400,000 years ago, early humans in Europe, Asia and Africa lived alongside giant straight-tusked elephants, far bigger than their modern-day cousins. Their evolution has long been a mystery to ...

A fossilized elephant skull found in the Kashmir Valley is reshaping how scientists understand an ancient giant’s past. Discovered in 2000 from the Karewa sediments near Pampore, the skull remained a ...

An imposing fully-grown male Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus wandering the Kashmir Valley, 400 thousand years ago, towering over a herd of Central Asian red deer traversing by. In the distance, a small band ...

“From the general shape of the skull, it’s quite apparent that the elephant belonged to Palaeoloxodon, or straight-tusked elephants, among the largest land mammals that ever lived,” Steven Zhang, a ...

A fossil discovery near Pampore, Kashmir, offers a glimpse into how early humans interacted with their environment during the Middle Pleistocene. Nestled in a valley flanked by the towering Himalayas, ...

Signs of bone breakage in extinct giant elephants, likely caused by repeated blows from stone tools, could be the earliest evidence of animal butchery in India, palaeontologists say. Based on two ...

“This year we can talk about the year of the elephant. From 2018 until now, we had identified two skulls, but only this year did we find three” described an archeologist.

The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact [email protected] International media ...

Two wedge-shaped shelves arranged on a wall. The long shelf holds five elephant foot stools. The short shelf holds an elephant skull. siris_ari_305160 ...