Bison Leg Bone (115,000 years old)

3D Model

This bone provides a rare glimpse into the fascinating mix of sub-tropical and temperate woodland species that once roamed the Yorkshire Dales. It was found in 1872 by Victorian archaeologists inside Victoria Cave, Yorkshire, along with the remains of lions, brown bear, hippo, elephant, rhino, giant deer and a rare form of woodland mammoth. The bones had been brought into the cave by spotted hyenas, who were using it as a den during the Last Interglacial - a particularly warm period which lasted from about 130,000-115,000 years ago. It’s possible that this bone belonged to a bull injured during the Autumn mating season, before being hunted down by the hyena pack .

Archived in the Tot Lord Collection, Yorkshire.

Extinct bison (Bison priscus) metacarpal from the Victoria Cave hyena bone bed, sealed by a large piece of flowstone dating to 115,000 BP. Source: O’Connor and Lord (2013) Cave Palaeontology

Photography & 3D modelling by Hugh Fiske for DigVentures.

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