In the contemporary context, studying mammoths engages scientists from different fields, such as anthropologists, historians, sociologists, economists, environmental experts, biologists, and managers, among others. For instance, archeological excavations are carried out, research projects on mammoth fossils are implemented, and rock paintings with the images of mammoths are studied (e.g., Luzan 2020). In the media today, we find discussions of various projects that focus on the life of mammoths, or that speculate on the possibility of using mammoth tusks as a substitute for live elephant tusks. Regular finds of the remains of tusks contribute to the relevance of studying mammoth tusks. Therefore, consideration of the issue of substituting the ivory of living elephants with tusks of fossil mammoths mined in the Arctic is of great scientific and practical importance. This approach can be considered both from the point of view of preserving global biodiversity and taking into account the impact of mammoth tusk extraction on the quality of life of local communities.
The collection and extraction of mammoth tusks can also be considered in the context of addressing the traditional knowledge of Indigenous people in terms of connections between nature and people (Hill et al. 2020). An interest in mammoth fauna has been observed among populations living in areas where ancient mammoths have been unearthed, which are permafrost zones as a rule. The search for—and collection of—mammoth tusks has been identified among the contemporary activities of the Indigenous peoples of the North (Vasil'eva 2022).
The history of finding and collecting mammoth tusks in the Russian Arctic dates back several centuries. The Indigenous population of eastern Siberia began extracting and selling mammoth tusks to markets in the East (Iran, Khorezm, China, and Mongolia) long before the development of the northern regions. As an analogue of ivory, mammoth tusks began to appear regularly in Western Europe from the beginning of the seventeenth century; they were used as a barter item along with fur and fish. Mammoth tusks in meaningful numbers began to be sent to European countries at the end of the seventeenth century and at the beginning of the eighteenth century (Potravnyet al. 2020). An earlier reference to finding mammoth remains dates back to the eighteenth century, when a mammoth's head with one tusk was found not far from Yakutsk (Middendorf 1861; Tolmachoff 1929).
The collection of mammoth tusks in the north of Yakutia—including the lower reaches of the rivers Lena, Yana, and Indigirka, as well as the seaside and the Arctic islands, namely the New Siberian Islands and Medvezhyi Island—brings a lot of income to the local population. The quantity of mammoth tusk extracted from the Russian Arctic has been estimated at anywhere from 700 to 2,000 poods1 of annual production (from 11 to 33 tons, or on average 25 tons) (Smirnov et al. 2016). In the 1760s, mammoth tusks were actively sold at the trade fairs in Irkutsk and Udinsk (now Ulan-Ude, Buryatia). At the end of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century until 1913, up to 30 tons of mammoth tusks and items made from mammoth tusks were sold at the Yakutsk fair.
According to work by Smirnov and colleagues (2016), the large-scale extraction of fossil mammoth tusks has been carried out in the Russian Arctic for three centuries. During the Soviet period, mammoth tusks were used in small numbers within the country mainly for the purpose of producing art and craft items. During this period, there was practically no extraction of fossil mammoth tusks in the Arctic territories due to the unprofitability of such activities and the lack of stable sales market.
A more active search for mammoth tusks, or “tusk fever,” began in the Arctic territories in the 1980s. This was related to the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and a ban on trade in elephant tusks introduced in 1990. In this case, mammoth tusks—as a high-value material approved for use—could serve as a substitute for ivory. This process coincided with market transformations in the Soviet Union and contributed to the beginning of the tusk boom in the Arctic regions. Global demand and rising prices for fossil mammoth tusks made a dramatic impact on the lifestyle, the priority system, and the economic behavior of the Indigenous population.
It should be noted that mammoth tusks and products made from mammoth tusks have always been considered elements of culture for many Indigenous peoples. For example, in ancient times mammoth tusks served as raw material for producing hunting tools (Pfeifer et al. 2019). In Yakutia, the art of carving mammoth tusks was considered an element of national identity (Ivanova-Unarova and Alekseeva 2021). Today, in Yakutia and other Arctic and northern regions, a local market for products made from mammoth tusks continues to be fostered. While it formerly was an activity of a souvenir nature that used to be oriented towards tourists, nowadays jewelry made of mammoth tusks is also sold in regular stores for local residents (Prokop'eva et al. 2021).
Religion is significant in terms of understanding the attitude of the local population to the collection and sale of products made of mammoth tusks. Cultural activities, namely certain rituals and traditions, are critical for religious performances. For instance, these include worship of the mammoth spirit, the belief that the discovery of mammoth remains foretells death or devastation in a family, the idea that the mammoth spirit provides patronage, or the belief that the mammoth was involved in the creation of the world and its rivers, lakes, and mountains (Bravina 2023).
According to studies in culture and religion, two types of mammoths can be distinguished, namely the eastern type known to the Chukchi and Yukaghir, and the western type known to the Sakha, the Evenki, and the Even. The image of the mammoth can be divided into two types: the mammoth as a part of nature and the mammoth as a monster or a mysterious, frightening creature. Legends about mammoths have a negative connotation for almost all peoples of Yakutia. It is a dangerous beast that created the topography of the Earth, cracks the ice, manifests itself as the harsh winter, and sometimes causes people's death (Fedorova and Sleptsova 2019).
In the Soviet period, the extraction of tusks was always a source of additional earnings for the Indigenous peoples of the North who were leading a traditional lifestyle, and also (particularly) after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Arzyutov 2019). During this period, unemployment increased among the Indigenous population in the Arctic. Reindeer breeders and fishermen were collecting tusks that they happened upon while going about their activities and handed them over to dealers, as this activity had been permitted in the past.
Today, the activity of collecting mammoth tusks in the Arctic territories is considered a new type of employment with a designated title: “the collector of mammoth tusks” (D'iakonova 2022). The placement of mammoth tusk collection in a separate category as a type of employment is related to the role of this activity in the provision of income and employment for the local population (Fedorova 2022). In her work, A. R. Fedorova (2022) states that most local residents were involved in this activity for economic reasons, among others; as they explained to her: “To provide for my parents;” “Unemployment is the problem;” “Life is making me do it;” “I used to deal with mammoth tusks when I was a reindeer breeder and a fisherman; it is impossible to find a job anywhere.”
The collection of mammoth tusks can thus be considered a type of informal employment for the local population in the northern and Arctic regions, and its role in the contemporary social and economic context is increasing. The proportion of the population engaged in the informal sector in the Arctic districts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) increased from 13.9 percent in 2010 to 20.7 percent in 2022 (Terent'eva 2023).
According to the existing approaches, this kind of informal employment is related to the informal economy and is a temporary job. Under conditions of the industrial development of the Arctic, this ratio may decrease due to the creation of additional jobs. On the other hand, informal employment is often associated with the imperfection of management institutions (“the rules of the game”).
Informal employment in the Arctic regions, including mammoth tusk extraction, is closely connected to—and makes an impact on—the social structure of society and local communities, as well as on the social roles of individual persons. If a license for the extraction of mammoth tusks is acquired, a local individual can be considered a self-employed resident. It is important to note that many Indigenous people have been registered as individual entrepreneurs and thereby have legalized their business activities.
In 2023 in Yakutia, 781 licenses for the extraction of mammoth tusks and other remains of mammoths were issued. Across the territory of 15 Arctic and northern regions there are 117 users engaged in this activity. Most of the licenses for the extraction of mammoth tusks were issued in the Arctic regions, namely in the coastal Abyysky District (152 licenses), and in Ust’-Yanskii District (272 licenses). However, the annual quantity of mammoth tusk extracted in Yakutia is more than 150 tons (Sofronova et al. 2024; field data of the author).
For instance, in Ust’-Yanskii District, Yakutia, one may observe the creation of jobs for the local population in the field of extraction of mammoth tusks (field data of the author). This district is located in the north of Yakutia above the Arctic Circle. The coat of arms of the district presents the image of a mammoth and diamonds, which provides an understanding of the specialization areas of the district. Figure 1 shows the coat of arms of the Ust’-Yanskii District with the image of a mammoth, as well as the coat of arms of the city of Srednekolymsk, Yakutia. Figure 2 shows the coat of arms of the Ust’-Tatti settlement on the Aldan River, Yakutia.
The coat of arms of the Ust’-Yanskii District with the image of mammoth, as well as the coat of arms of the city of Srednekolymsk, Yakutia.
Citation: Sibirica 24, 1; 10.3167/sib.2025.240103
Coat of arms of Ust’-Tatti village on the Aldan River, Yakutia.
Citation: Sibirica 24, 1; 10.3167/sib.2025.240103
The territory of the Ust’-Yanskii District is mainly inhabited by Indigenous peoples, including Evenki, Dolgan, and Yukaghir communities. The Indigenous population is largely involved in traditional livelihoods, such as reindeer industry, horse breeding, cattle breeding, and hunting. In addition, part of the population is employed in mining industries or in state-financed organizations. The problems of unemployment, the departure of youth, difficulties in preserving and transmitting traditional culture, and high food prices are typical for such distant northern districts. Therefore, the local population earns money on the side in order to attain a decent standard of living. In this regard, the extraction of mammoth tusks must be considered a critical component of the economy of the Arctic coastal territories (Novikov 2022). The equipment accelerates the melting of permafrost in order to extract the tusks, and this also brings about bank caving and landscape deformation.
Multiethnic local communities of the Indigenous peoples in the Arctic territories have led a relatively isolated lifestyle for a long time due to the considerable distances between the places of their compact residence, which can sometimes amount to hundreds of kilometers. However, it is these Indigenous peoples who were caught in the middle of the “tusk boom” at the end of the 1980s. The active extraction of mammoth tusks by visiting miners or geological field parties, often without observing the basic ecological standards or local moral rules, caused discontent among local residents. During this period, many strangers traveled to the Arctic regions to carry out uncontrolled activities to extract this valuable material.
Predatory methods of extraction in the north of Yakutia and in Chukotka neglected the demands of environmental legislation; miners used heavy tracked vehicles that destroyed tundra. Moreover, mine workings were performed with the use of special power pumps that eroded permafrost (Grigorev 2021). In turn, this made an impact on the traditional economy of local residents and their environment. The degradation of pastures and hunting areas affected the incomes of local residents. This period of development of mammoth tusks as a resource in the Arctic regions of Yakutia can be compared to a phase of the development of natural resources and the impact it made on the Indigenous communities in the north of Canada in the 1970s and in the mid-1990s, which was characterized by policies of assimilation, restlessness, and acculturation, according to Angela Angell and John Parkins (2011).Thus, it is obvious that the extraction of mineral resources is closely connected to social wellbeing and can cause both positive and negative consequences. This interdependence was also manifested in an increased cohesion among the local communities (Ensign et al. 2014).
In the Far North, most people do not have jobs to provide for their families and therefore men go hunting for mammoth tusks even though it is hard and dangerous work. The entire coast of the Laptev Sea in the North of Yakutia is divided between the tribal communities of the Indigenous peoples who have been collecting mammoth tusks in this area for decades. People work in teams of 15–20 people (field data of the author).
As with any economic activity, the work of extracting mammoth tusks has its own ethnic and ethnocultural characteristics reflected in the values shared by people living in the territories with high reserves of mammoth remains; these characteristics determine the specific attitudes to this industry. The ethnic characteristics of the local population are particularly evident in terms of the implementation of economic activity in projects connected to the industrial development of the Arctic regions. The procedure of ethnological expert assessment of industrial development projects (Gassiy 2019) enables us to identify how such projects can make an impact on the quality of life (Potravnaya 2022) as well as to determine procedures for taking into account the views and interests of the local population (Sleptsov et al. 2023).
Surveys conducted by the author within the framework of ethnological expert assessment in some of the Arctic areas in Yakutia make it possible to identify ethnic characteristics of the local population. The results of surveys conducted in 2017 in the Ust’-Yanskii District reveal the attitudes of the local population towards the collection of mammoth tusks. Cluster surveys were conducted for the purpose of developing recommendations on improving the quality of life in areas where projects of industrial development in the Arctic region were underway. The study sample included 129 capable citizens over the age of 18 who attended special meetings with representatives of the scientific expedition during the survey. Face-to-face interviews were conducted, and the local population's attitudes towards the collection of mammoth tusks was one of a number of questions within the framework of assessing the impact made by the project. Other questions focused on impacts of planned mineral extraction on the social and economic development of the region, the living conditions of local residents, locals’ employment and income, as well as the state of the environment.
According to survey data, 20 percent of the respondents noted that they earn additional income through the collection of mammoth tusks. Such activity had not been identified as a permanent job before; the local residents considered this activity a traditional industry of the region. Moreover, it was viewed as unstable, hazardous work of a seasonal nature, requiring good knowledge of the local area. However, the income received from this activity is significantly higher than that earned from engagement in the other traditional industries (reindeer breeding, fishing, hunting, and gathering).
A completely opposite attitude to the collection of mammoth tusks can be observed in the results of similar surveys carried out in the territory of the Olenekskii District in 2023. The study sample totaled 193 people. Respondents from among hunters and fishermen noted that the collection of mammoth tusks has its own characteristics related to moral and ecological considerations, as well as traditions of the local population. Shamans remain significant in the local people's lives and influence their worldviews. In the areas where shamans still practice, the local people usually consult with them before making important decisions. One should obtain permission to engage in this type of activity with regards to existing traditions and rituals. These cultural traditions can cause fear and unwillingness to collect mammoth tusks.
Similar sociological surveys were carried out in the Momskii District and the Oymyakonskii District of Yakutia in 2020. The questionnaire was used for the indicator cluster survey. The clusters were the following settlements: a rural locality (selo), Sasyr; an urban locality, Ust’-Nera; an urban locality and the gold field Artyk; and a rural locality, Buor-Sysy. The sample included 134 respondents. The local population is quite rational about projects on the industrial development of the Arctic territories. Over 90 percent of respondents show a high level of environmental awareness and understand that any intervention in the environment is harmful. The surveys revealed that local residents are very interested in the preservation of the natural wealth of the territories for future generations.
Results of the study revealed rather contradictory tendencies of economic behavior among the Indigenous peoples: on the one hand, responses glorified nature and the value of nature preservation; on the other hand, a consumer's attitude towards nature for the sake of economic profit was also observed. However, not only the local population is engaged in the extraction of mammoth tusks. Visiting entrepreneurs who possess more significant resources and the capital for conducting activity are also involved. But a “stranger” or a “visiting” collector of mammoth tusks would not be able to implement their activity without support of the local population. The locals fear that visiting entrepreneurs who do not consider their traditions can disrupt their way of life or harm nature: “Strangers will come, catch our fish, and collect our mammoth tusks” (Potravnaya and Kim 2020).
A question emerges: why does the local population help “strangers” in their search for mammoth tusks? The reason is largely economic. Today, activity concerning the collection of mammoth tusks must be regulated by law: a site must be registered, and a license for the extraction of mammoth tusks must be issued. Costs for processing and obtaining these permits can be over fifty thousand rubles. This is an unaffordable amount for most Indigenous residents.
To extract mammoth tusks, you need special equipment and vehicles (boats and ATVs), or even diving equipment, as well as the initial funding and means for the organization of work. The locals often do not have such means and funding. Therefore, they are hired as mushers or guides, as they know the area well. They do not identify their employment in the field of collecting mammoth tusks as a permanent job; in other words, residents are often contractors, employees, or guides for visiting entrepreneurs.
On the other hand, informal leaders of this business are being formed among the Indigenous residents, who hire their own employees. This business enables residents to make up to 15 million rubles per season. In this case, a tribal community of the Indigenous people is the main unit and a production base for the work of extracting mammoth tusks (Sleptsov 2021). Within the framework of the survey, I encountered an ambivalent attitude toward mammoth tusks.
The local population in the Arctic considers mammoth tusks to be “their” resource, which is located on their territory. Therefore, local communities have a desire to extract tusks themselves and benefit from it. At the same time, when licenses for the extraction of tusks are available to many, including “strangers” or visitors, the Indigenous population cannot prevent other, non-local people, as well as commercial firms, from participating in the extraction of tusks. Visitors often have more opportunities—financial, technical, and transport—to equip expeditions. There is also the problem of selling the extracted mammoth bone and obtaining permits for its export.
In these conditions, the Indigenous people are forced to cooperate with visitors, who often outbid their extracted tusks, and then issue the necessary documents, permits, and certificates for the export of such products. The local population, which often has a low level of education, is often unfamiliar with the legal norms in this area, and thus resort to such cooperation with visitors in order to get at least some income—this activity for them is often informal and semi-legal.
It should be noted that a similar practice exists in the Arctic territories with regard to fish caught by tribal communities, which are often outbid by visitors, and then exported and supplied to markets. For example, in an ancestral community of Indigenous peoples, Chekurovka (located on the Lena River in the Bulunskii district of Yakutia), products are often sold to visitors or fish are simply exchanged for necessary goods. In order to protect the interests of the Indigenous population of the Arctic in the extraction of mammoth tusks, a quota should be set for licenses to be issued to the local community out of the total number of licenses issued for the collection of mammoth bones. For instance, many Evenkis spoke in a rather cautious manner about their willingness to collect mammoth tusks. As for the Yukaghirs I surveyed, they—in contrast—often expressed their interest in this type of employment. This can be explained by the fact that the Evenki people there largely retain their adherence to the traditions of the past, where the collection of mammoth tusks is associated with beliefs and fear of the “curse of the mammoth” if a person touches the tusks. According to the ideas of the Evenki, the mammoth took sand and soil from the seabed with its tusks, and this is how the land on which we live appeared; thus, many people view the creature with a certain respect. Yukaghirs, on the other hand, were ready to collect mammoth bones. For example, a Yukaghir community on the Yana River, where many tusks are found, put forward a project to create a Yukaghir tourist and ethnographic complex in Yakutia called “Land of Yukaghirs and Mammoths.”
Thus, the illegal collection of mammoth tusks remains a problem for the local population, regardless of whether they are for or against their collection. The illegal search for the tusks creates an extremely competitive environment among the locals and essentially takes away bread from the Indigenous population. Moreover, such unrestricted extraction is harmful to the environment and the economy. The surveys carried out by the author show that over 70 percent of the respondents, regardless of their gender or age, understand that they live in an area that is rich in natural resources, including the reserves of mammoth tusks. Almost half of the respondents (44.8 percent) support the implementation of projects focused on the development of these reserves, as this activity allows for the improvement of the socioeconomic situation in the Arctic regions. It also contributes to the creation of employment opportunities for the youth in their place of origin and to the eradication of poverty (Markova et al. 2021). Only 7.5 percent of the respondents consider themselves the owners of natural resources and paleontological remains located in their area of residence. Respondents who are engaged in traditional industries often consider themselves the owners of natural resources, more often than those involved in the other fields.
It should be noted that the attitude of Indigenous peoples towards the ownership of natural resources in their territory of residence and traditional economic activities has undergone a long evolution. During the Soviet period, the processes of nationalization and collectivization (the creation of collective farms and state farms) also affected the Arctic and were aimed at separating the local population from the rights to their land, on which they had lived for centuries. Before the era of collectivization, each clan and family was associated with a piece of land, rivers, seashore, and hunting grounds to carry out their traditional activities. People who did not agree with such a policy of collectivization, who did not want to take sides, ended up further North in order to live peacefully according to their own laws. But they were found there, too. For example, in the village of Zhilinda in the Olenekskii district of Yakutia, there is a monument to the repressed Evenki reindeer herders in 1932, when Soviet power had long been established in other parts of the country. It was only after 1991 that, practically in the conditions of transition to market-based management methods in the North and in the Arctic, a policy of securing land for Indigenous peoples and creating territories of traditional nature management began to be implemented.
This has led to a revival of local interest in land rights, especially in the context of active industrial development of the Arctic territories. Therefore, respondents who are associated with the use of land and other natural resources (hunters, reindeer herders, fishermen, mammoth tusk collectors, and others) feel more connected with natural goods and the need for legal regulation of ownership of natural resources. For example, the local population in the Arctic is genuinely surprised and often do not understand why they should apply for and pay for a license to collect mammoth tusks if they collect tusks on their historical territory. Therefore, they perceive any attempts by the authorities to regulate this business in some way with some distrust and caution. Conversely, those residents of the Arctic who are employed in the public sector (at schools, post offices, kindergartens, municipal enterprises, and others), as well as workers employed in mining companies, consider themselves less to be owners or owners of natural resources.
The growing self-awareness of the local population regarding the rights to natural resources in the territories of their residence leads to increased requirements for companies in the extraction of minerals, an activity that affects the territories of traditional nature use of Indigenous peoples. This is reflected in the receipt by tribal communities of income from the development of minerals, shares of companies, the creation of new jobs for local communities, and financing by mining companies of social, environmental, and transport infrastructure facilities for the local population.
The development of ethnic entrepreneurship among the Indigenous peoples, including production of souvenirs, can be considered a measure of support and development of self-employment among the local population in the field of mammoth tusk extraction. The eighteenth International Exhibition Fair “Treasures of the North” was held at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements in Moscow in April–May 2023; it revealed that, in Russia, the production of various items and souvenirs from mammoth tusks has essentially developed as an area of traditional livelihoods of the Indigenous peoples of the North (Figure 3).
Poster of the eighteenth International Exhibition Fair “Treasures of the North,” 2023.
Citation: Sibirica 24, 1; 10.3167/sib.2025.240103
Among other measures of support for the Indigenous peoples, including the extraction and use of mammoth tusks, it is worth noting that there has been a simplification of procedures for the local residents but not for visiting entrepreneurs and major mining companies in terms of obtaining appropriate permits for the export of extracted raw materials of mammoth origin.
M. A. Pitukhina and A. D. Belykh (2023) recommend a simplification of the procedure for submitting documents for the realization of rights to traditional livelihoods, the provision of targeted places for admission to specialized higher educational institutions for representatives of the Indigenous peoples, the creation of specialized training and production centers for mastering professions related to the ethnocultural sphere of the Indigenous peoples, and the development of a practice of educational certificates for Indigenous children. In compliance with the minimum social security standards, such measures also cover expansion of the practice of allocating lump sum payments known as “chumovoi capital” (from the word chum, the nomadic dwelling) to families of three or more people, including the provision of equipment and transportation for nomadic life, as well as “nomadic” payments to support the Indigenous residents who end up in difficult economic situations (for instance, the elders, etc.) (Pitukhina and Belykh 2023). “Chumovoi capital” indicates that it is a measure of support for the life and traditional crafts of Indigenous peoples.
Conclusion
The studies carried out by the author in the last ten years within the framework of ethnological expert assessment show that, for the Indigenous population, the extraction of mammoth tusks is not the main subsistence activity or a source of permanent income; rather, this activity is a side job. However, for a major part of the population, it is the only income source. The fact that, during the extraction of mammoth tusks, the local residents do not work for themselves and receive only a small reward compared to the real value of mammoth tusks, can explain the common indifferent attitude to the environment during mammoth tusk extraction.
Most local residents, with their careful attitude to nature and the powerful influence of religious and ethnic traditions, are not ready to engage in activities that might harm the environment for the sake of making a quick profit. The existing shadow sales market and insufficient legal regulation restrain the development of this sphere. In this context, it is essential to allocate quotas for mammoth tusk extraction for the local population in particular. This specific condition can help ensure the employment of the Indigenous population and the preservation of the environment.
The following contradictory features regarding the perception of mammoth tusks can be identified among the contemporary population of the Arctic regions. On one hand, the extraction of mammoth tusks is one of the traditional livelihoods of the Indigenous population historically living in areas rich in the remains of tusks. This activity is being performed by the local population who possess official licenses and is an additional source of income that contributes to a rise in living standards of the local population.
On the other hand, it is important to note the often rough treatment of nature by collectors of mammoth tusks (mainly by visiting collectors) and the use of pumps that damage the environment. By directing water through pumps, the equipment accelerates the melting of permafrost in order to extract the tusks, and this also brings about bank caving and landscape deformation. However, the extraction of mammoth tusks largely remains a source of informal employment for the local population and significantly reduces social tension in the Arctic regions. In general, the legalization of this activity, as well as consideration of social and ethnocultural characteristics of the Indigenous residents, contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the local population (Nogovitsyn et. al. 2023, 2024). Prospective areas of research on this issue in the future could include an assessment of impacts of mammoth tusk extraction on climate change and land use in areas of permafrost and effects on the livelihoods of the Indigenous peoples of the North (Crate et al. 2017).
The importance of mammoth bone for the modern population of the Arctic regions may increase due to ongoing climatic changes, as a result of which its extraction is increasing, which is confirmed by licenses issued for this activity to Indigenous peoples over the past 20 years (Potravnyi and Elsakov 2024). The growth of income of the local population in this area also depends on the solution of the issue of determining the scientific and cultural value of mammoth tusks (Protopopov et al. 2024), which currently significantly restricts the export of mammoth bone (Potravnyi et al. 2024).
Acknowledgments
This article was prepared with the support of a grant by the Russian Scientific Fund “Formation of mechanisms of support of traditional livelihoods of the Indigenous peoples of the North in the area of extraction and rational use of mammoth tusks” (Project # 24-28-00520).
Note
A pood is an old Russian measure of weight equal to 16.38 kg.
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