Specimen Report: California Academy of Sciences
70750 (Mammoth skin and hair) & 70790 (Mammoth hair)
This report provides a close look at two specimens from the California Academy of Sciences Invertebrate Zoology and Geology collection. It examines the material form of the specimens alongside their geographic movements and changing social and scientific spheres, ultimately revealing their existence as objects that span natural and unnatural boundaries.
Read more about the specimens here .
CAS 70750 - Mammoth skin and hair
Packaging and Labels
The specimen is packaged in a small (approx. 4W x 4L x 2H in.), clear box. A white string is tied around the outside of the box to keep two paper labels bundled with the specimen. These labels present paradoxical location information: one, a handwritten note on blue paper, describes the specimen as, “MAMMOTH HAIR SIBERIA,” while the second, a white, printed information card clearly states that the specimen was found in Alaska. Here, the specimen’s place of “formation” is listed as “Fairbanks. Frozen in gravel of Placer Mine.”
Since placer mining is a method of mining rather than a proper noun (as is suggested by the capitalization utilized on the card), the exact location of the mine where the hair and skin were found is unclear.
Click the button above to see the specimen's journey to the museum.
Inside the box, two separate paper tags are stored along with the specimen. One handwritten tag (with thin white string attached) notes its connection to the University of Alaska and its donation by J.W. Durham. The other label (typewritten) simply states “MAMMOTH WOOL.”
The Specimen
Hair
The hair is matted and fluffy, a different consistency than the other hair specimen in collection (70790). This specimen (70750) is dense, wool-like, and – although I was not permitted to touch it without gloves – appeared to be softer than the other specimen. This softer quality is, perhaps, due to the hairs’ original location on the body which I presume was closer to the skin.
Bits of dirt and possibly plant matter or gravel are embedded in the hair. [1] Likewise, the bottom of the plastic box is dusted in dirt and small bits of hair.
The top, outer layer of the specimen is a dulled grayish-red or brown in color, but the inner and under sides of the hair are more vibrantly copper. When looked at more closely, the clump of hair is composed of individual strands of varying colors: blonde, light brown, dark brown, and bright red-orange.
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Affinities between researcher and specimens
The multi-hued strands of the mammoth hair mirror the makeup of my own “ginger” hair. Mine is also a blend of some very red hairs intermixed with blonde and brown strands, producing an overall coppery appearance. Having seen many depictions of woolly mammoths with reddish hair, I was expecting to encounter a specimen of this general tone. Yet, seeing this particular similarity in multi-color makeup somehow surprised me. It is worth noting, however, that the generally reddish color of extant mammoth hair specimens may actually be a result of their time spent in ice. Recent laboratory tests on permafrost preserved woolly mammoth hair suggest that while living mammoths did indeed have “mottled/variegated” coats made up of various textures and light and dark colored strands, most of the redness seen today may be due to keratin breakdown taking place during specimens’ lengthy “interment” in ice. [2]
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Skin
A piece of dried skin is included with the hair, but the two are no longer physically connected. The skin is brittle, more like a thin, twisted shaving of tree bark than a supple piece of leather. While the overall appearance is light tan in color, it is composed of darker gray, brown, and even reddish portions. It appears dry and fragile with flakey bits fringing the edges.
CAS 70790 - Mammoth hair
Packaging and Labels
The specimen is packaged in a narrow zip-top plastic bag which itself is stored in a shallow paper box. Included in the bag is a printed label that states it is mammoth hair found in the Taymyr Peninsula, Siberia, Russia.
Outside of the bag, two labels contain specimen information. A hand-printed label notes that the specimen was purchased at the Tucson [Gem and Mineral] Show on February 10, 2008.
When the specimen was originally found in Siberia is not explained by the specimen labels or within the Academy’s records.
Specimen Itinerary:
The Specimen
This portion of hair is approximately 6 inches long, though it would be much longer if fully stretched out.
The hair is matted at one end where it appears to have once been attached to the skin of the mammoth. Here, the hair is fluffy yet dense. As the hair extends, it thins and becomes coarser and brighter in color.
The hair is deeply waved with one heart-shaped kink visible near the center of the specimen. Small pieces of dirt or possibly plant matter are embedded in the strands. As with the other specimen, a closer look at the hair reveals strands of differing colors and textures.
Further Considerations
The previous owner of the specimen is listed as Dmitri Belakovski, a curator and scientist at the Fersman Mineralogical Museum at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Other than the note about the specimen’s purchase at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in 2008, no additional information or documentation about its origin or acquisition is available at the Academy. According to a report in The Mineralogical Record, however, the 2008 Tucson show was “the most exciting, adrenaline-charged one in many years.” [3] Mammoth hair is not mentioned in the gem-and-mineral-focused report, but the author does note that “Mother Russia herself seemed to have little new to offer” to the event. [4] Given the prehistoric origins of the mammoth specimen and others at the show, this appears to be a true assessment.
