MOSCOW: A first intact head of a gigantic adult wolf which died about 32,000 years ago and was preserved in permafrost has been found in the Russian Arctic, scientists have said.
Covered with thick fur, the head was found by a local on the banks of the Tirekhtyakh River in Russia’s remote Arctic region of Yakutia last summer.
It features a well-preserved brain, soft tissue and a set of powerful teeth and measures 41.5 centimeters (16 inches) in length.
By comparison, the torso of a modern-day wolf is between 66 and 86 centimeters long.
The head was handed to local palaeontologists who teamed up with scientists from the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo to study it.
“It is the first ever such find,” Albert Protopopov, head of mammoth fauna studies at the Yakutia Academy of Sciences, told AFP on Friday.
“Only cubs have been discovered before.”
Research shows the animal died about 32,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch, when the most recent Ice Age occurred.
The wolf is believed to have been between two and four years old when it died.
The Pleistocene epoch was the time when megafauna such as woolly mammoths roamed the Earth.
Protopopov said the scientists from Russia, Japan and Sweden would continue to study the head.
“We are hoping to understand whether this was a separate subspecies,” he added.
Several species of ancient wolf lived during the Ice Age including now-extinct dire wolf that featured in the popular TV series Game of Thrones.
Head of 32,000-year-old wolf found in Russian Arctic
Head of 32,000-year-old wolf found in Russian Arctic
- Research shows the animal died about 32,000 years ago in the Pleistocene epoch, when the most recent Ice Age occurred
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
