Elephant tusks at Ebbsfleet. (Credit: University of Southampton)
Posted on 09/27/2013 6:10:14 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Dr Francis Wenban-Smith discovered a site containing remains of an extinct straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) in 2003, in an area of land at Ebbsfleet in Kent, during the construction of the High Speed 1 rail link from the Channel Tunnel to London...
Excavation revealed a deep sequence of deposits containing the elephant remains, along with numerous flint tools and a range of other species such as; wild aurochs, extinct forms of rhinoceros and lion, Barbary macaque, beaver, rabbit, various forms of vole and shrew, and a diverse assemblage of snails. These remains confirm that the deposits date to a warm period of climate around 420,000 years ago, the so-called Hoxnian interglacial, when the climate was probably slightly warmer than the present day.
Since the excavation, which took place in 2004, Francis has been carrying out a detailed analysis of evidence recovered from the site, including 80 undisturbed flint artefacts found scattered around the elephant carcass and used to butcher it. The pre-historic elephant was twice the size of today's African variety and up to four times the weight of family car...
An ability to hunt large mammals, and in particular elephants, as suggested by the Ebbsfleet find, would go some way to explaining how these people then managed to push northwards again into what is now Britain. The flint artefacts of these pioneer settlers are of a characteristic type known as Clactonian, mostly comprising simple razor-sharp flakes that would have been ideal for cutting meat, sometimes with notches on them that would have helped cut through the tougher animal hide.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Elephant tusks at Ebbsfleet. (Credit: University of Southampton)
/johnny
“’These remains confirm that the deposits date to a warm period of climate around 420,000 years ago, the so-called Hoxnian interglacial, when the climate was probably slightly warmer than the present day. “
Those darn SUVs
Was there a CMETA to protest the slaughter?
/johnny
Ummm... “Cro-Magnons for the Efficient Taxidermy of Aurochs”?
/johnny
I thought that’s what LEOs were?
/johnny
SUPs - Sport Utility Pachyderms.
I thought there might be a good soup somewhere that used Elephant, and although I haven’t tried it, it sounds interesting.. :)
Elephant Soup
In African villages, a successful hunt means a share of fresh meat for everyone. After traveling in equatorial Africa one observer wrote, “...the gorge they all go in for after a successful elephant hunt is a thing to see — once”. (Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa, 1897.) There can still be more meat than can be immediately consumed, especially when there are no refrigerators or freezers, so a tradition of preserving meat by drying or smoking has developed throughout Africa. Dried meat, called biltong (similar to jerky) is often eaten as is. This recipe shows how dried meat can be used to make a soup or stew, similar to what is described in the quotation from Baker, below. (See also: Elephant.)
african elephants were trained as beasts of burden in the belgian congo
What you need
one-half pound of biltong, or dried or smoked meat like beef jerky (the original recipe mentions elephant meat coated with salt and honey and dried in the sun)
six to eight cups of beef broth or beef stock
one cup of mirepoix [diced carrots, onions, celery and herbs sautéed in butter] (optional)
two onions, finely chopped
one cup shelled, roasted peanuts (or one-half cup peanut butter)
one cup boiled chana dal (or any lentils or dried peas)
one small leek, finely chopped
one cup of Wumubu mushrooms (or any kind of mushrooms), (the original recipe says that Wumubu are “a type of black African mushroom”)
two tablespoons of butter
salt, black pepper (to taste)
one-half cup cream
What you do
Wash the biltong or dried meat in hot water, and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
In a large pot or dutch oven, combine the meat with enough cold water to cover it, and cook over a low heat for twenty to thirty minutes.
Add the mirepoix and beef broth and simmer for two hours.
Add the onions, peanuts, and dal (lentils), mushrooms, and leek. Cook until the dal are completely disintegrated.
Adjust the seasoning. Add the butter and cream. Serve.
Recipe adapted from Exotische Gerichte: Rezepte aus der Orientalischen, Afrikanischen und Asiatischen Kueche by Werner Fisher, (Hugo Matthaes Verlag, Stuttgart, 1961). The original recipe also calls some good Madeira to be added along with the cream.
If possible, obtain real African biltong (from an international or African import grocery store). There are many websites with recipes telling how to make your own biltong. South Africans in particular are sensitive about comparing African biltong to American beef jerky.
this reply is prolly a recipe for disaster but wth
there is no substitute for a really good piece of a..
Yeh, well, I am rather sensitive about calling shrimp and lobster "insects", but the truth can be quite difficult to swallow at times.
Prehistoric capitalists.
And here's a modern elephant that's just as doomed.
Real Italians, like my grandparents, ate some pretty unusual stuff, and I had to try it, or else, I have to confess I’m not a courageous gourmet.. LOL
"...deposits containing the elephant remains, along with numerous flint tools and a range of other species such as; wild aurochs, extinct forms of rhinoceros and lion, Barbary macaque, beaver, rabbit, various forms of vole and shrew, and a diverse..."
As far as I know rhinoceros, lion and elephant are traditionally found south of the equator in a land called Africa, a very long way south of Kent, England. Considering we are talking about 420,000BCE, we cannot use Rome as an excuse, or any other "modern" civilization.
Elephant I can handle, but how did rhinoceros and lion bones find their way so very far north?
Of course, {redacted}.
/johnny
They walked. It was warmer then.
/johnny
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