Bone - Woolly Rhinoceros
Object
Fossil
Production date
300,000 BC - 8,000 BC
Object number
1991.879
Physical Description
Fossil foot bone (Metatarsal 2 of left foot) of a Woolly Rhinoceros. 'IX' in ink.
Object history
Metatarsal (foot) bone of a woolly rhinoceros, found with an accompanying partial caudal vertebra (tail bone) in the Lower Brick Earths of the Thames Valley. It's identity as a Woolly Rhino was initially verified by the famous naturalist Sir Richard Owen (1804-1892), and later confirmed by Prof. Adrian Lister.
Associated Person
Material
Bone
Dimension
Height (Whole): 155mm
Width (Whole): 40mm
Depth (Whole): 40mm
Width (Whole): 40mm
Depth (Whole): 40mm
Exhibition Label
From ‘Hackney 300,000 BC: Meet the Neanderthal neighbours and curious creatures of the borough's Old Stone Age’
Woolly Rhinoceros
(300,000 - 10,000 years ago)
Around 300,000 years ago, the warm climate was replaced by a cooler period lasting 60,000 years. This led to the appearance of animals suited to these conditions.
The woolly rhino was covered in thick, reddish-brown hair to protect against cold weather. Their impressive horns measured 2 feet long.
The species went extinct, when warming conditions replaced their preferred habitat of huge open grasslands with woodland.
This tooth was found in Stoke Newington, while the leg bone was discovered in the Thames Valley and owned by a local collector Mr Soul.
Woolly Rhinoceros
(300,000 - 10,000 years ago)
Around 300,000 years ago, the warm climate was replaced by a cooler period lasting 60,000 years. This led to the appearance of animals suited to these conditions.
The woolly rhino was covered in thick, reddish-brown hair to protect against cold weather. Their impressive horns measured 2 feet long.
The species went extinct, when warming conditions replaced their preferred habitat of huge open grasslands with woodland.
This tooth was found in Stoke Newington, while the leg bone was discovered in the Thames Valley and owned by a local collector Mr Soul.
On display?
No
Inscription
IX