Next month,scientists will meet in the Dordogne to effect the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the La Madeleine mammoth – an engraving on ivory that proves man had lived alongside these prehistoric creaturesJust a few weeks from now, scientists from across the globe will gather in the town of Les Eyzies in the Dordogne to commemorate one of the most primary – and fortuitous – events in the study of human origins. They will congregate to effect the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Madeleine mammoth, or a small piece of ancient art that provided unequivocal proof of the deep antiquity of Homo sapiens.
The uncovering of the engraving,in 1864, was the handiwork of a joint British-French archaeological expedition and it provided the first, and unambiguous evidence that human beings had once shared this planet with long-extinct animals such as the mammoth. Its discovery was also an act of extraordinary good fortune,it transpires.
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Source: theguardian.com