Mammoths, Mastodonts, and Elephants
Biology, Behavior and the Fossil Record

This study uses the ecology and behaviour of modern elephants to create models for reconstructing the life and death of extinct mammoths and mastodons.

Gary Haynes (Author)

9780521456913, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 May 1993

428 pages, 107 b/w illus. 50 tables
22.7 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.57 kg

'The scholarly title obscures the real topic. In fact, this volume is a brilliant murder mystery.' Scientific American

The diminishing populations of African and Asian elephants call to mind the extinctions of other elephantlike species, such as mammoths and mastodons, that occurred more than 10000 years ago. The purpose of this book is to examine the ecology and behaviour of modern elephants to create models for reconstructing the lives and deaths of extinct mammoths and mastodons. The sources for these models are long-term continuing studies of elephants in Zimbabwe, Africa. These models are clearly described with respect to the anatomical, behavioural, and ecological similarities between past and present proboscideans. The implications of these similarities for the lives and deaths of mammoths and mastodons are explored in detail. The importance of this book is primarily its unifying perspective on living and extinct proboscideans: The fossil record is as carefully examined as is the natural history of surviving elephants. Dr Haynes's studies of the situations in which African elephants die (sometimes in great numbers) are unique and can provide crucial insights into ancient proboscidean bone collections.

Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I. Proboscidean Flesh and Bones: 1. Taxonomy: classification of fossil and living forms
2. Physical appearance: mammoths, mastodonts, and modern elephants
3. A referential model for understanding mammoths and mastodonts: social structure and habit use by modern elephants
Part II. Actualistic Studies of Proboscidean Mortality: 4. Actualistic studies of mass deaths
5. Actualistic studies of mass kills
Part III. The Fossil Record: 6. Finding meaning in proboscidean sites: the world fossil record
7. Extinction in North America at the end of the Pleistocene
Appendix
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Palaeontology [RBX], Evolution [PSAJ]