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It Had A "Strong Pleistocene Aroma": In 1984, Scientists Ate A 50,000-Year-Old Bison In A Stew
IFL Science ^ | September 25, 2025 | Rachael Funnell

Posted on 10/06/2025 11:16:23 AM PDT by Red Badger

“The taste was delicious, and none of us suffered any ill effects from the meal.”

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Blue Babe bison lived twice. First, 50,000 years ago, the steppe bison (Bison priscus) wandered Ice Age Alaska until a lion brought it down. Its second life began millennia later, when scientists uncovered its perfectly preserved body from the Alaskan permafrost, where it had lain frozen since that ancient day.

The remarkably well-preserved bison was first discovered by gold miners in 1979 and handed over to scientists as a rare find, being the only known example of a Pleistocene bison reclaimed from the permafrost. That said, it didn’t stop gastronomically curious researchers from whipping up a batch of Pleistocene-era bison neck stew.

“Strong Pleistocene Aroma”

The unusual dinner party would play out at the Alaska home of palaeontologist Dale Guthrie who was instrumental in the retrieval of Blue Babe from the environment. Initial analyses of the bison’s collagen appeared to indicate the remains were around 36,000 years old, but more modern investigations changed this to 50,000 years.

Blue Babe’s speedy transition into a Pleistocene popsicle after its death meant that its muscle tissue was preserved comparably to that of beef jerky with fat and bone marrow to boot. With so much on offer, the research team decided to follow in the footsteps of Russian scientists who had come before them in introducing a little bit of the findings into an evening meal.

“To climax and celebrate Eirik Granqvist’s [the taxidermist] work with Blue Babe, we had a bison stew dinner for him and for Bjorn Kurten, who was giving a guest lecture…” wrote Guthrie of the event. “A small part of the mummy’s neck was diced and simmered in a pot of stock and vegetables.”

“We had Blue Babe for dinner. The meat was well aged but still a little tough, and it gave the stew a strong Pleistocene aroma, but nobody there would have dared miss it.”

Neck Stew

As for why they opted for stew, “Making neck steak didn’t sound like a very good idea,” Guthrie told Atlas Obscura. “But you know, what we could do is put a lot of vegetables and spices, and it wouldn’t be too bad.”

A bit of culinary wizardry may have rescued the flavor, but nothing could be done to revive the contents of Blue Babe’s abdomen, which had evidently spoiled before the animal first froze all those tens of thousands of years ago. Evidence of predation by lions was found in Blue Babe’s neck where tooth fragments remained, but where they’d trimmed the bison’s neck musculature meant the tissue here froze very quickly and so – even 50,000 years later – when it thawed it was quite fresh.

“When it thawed it gave off an unmistakable beef aroma, not unpleasantly mixed with a faint smell of the earth in which it was found, with a touch of mushroom,” Guthrie wrote. “About a dozen of us gathered… on April 6, 1984, to partake of Bison priscus stew.”

And in case you’re wondering how their constitutions fared after dining on 50,000-year-old meat, it seems they did just fine.

“The taste was delicious, and none of us suffered any ill effects from the meal.”

An earlier version of this article was published in 2022.


TOPICS: Food; History; Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: alaska; bison; bluebabe; daleguthrie; dietandcuisine; eirikgranqvist; godsgravesglyphs; pleistocene

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1 posted on 10/06/2025 11:16:23 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I think we have some nearly as old in our freezer. Good to know it’s still good!....................


2 posted on 10/06/2025 11:17:05 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Those ribs don’t look like much, do they?


3 posted on 10/06/2025 11:19:02 AM PDT by ComputerGuy
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To: ComputerGuy

They probably are desiccated pretty badly.....................


4 posted on 10/06/2025 11:20:01 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger
Paired with...?

A suitable wine would have been appropriate.

Regards,

5 posted on 10/06/2025 11:21:51 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: Red Badger
Strong Pleistocene Aroma

Reminds me of the few times I've used public transportation.

6 posted on 10/06/2025 11:25:32 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Red Badger

Apparently ‘freezer burn’ is fake news so people will throw out perfectly good eats.

I mean come on, if it’s good after 50,000 years, what’s 50?


7 posted on 10/06/2025 11:26:41 AM PDT by Ezekiel (🆘️ "Come fly with US". 🔴 Ingenuity -- because the Son of David begins with MARS ♂️, aka every man)
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To: alexander_busek

Ripple or Sangria would be the best choices...........


8 posted on 10/06/2025 11:27:20 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

“The taste was delicious, and none of us suffered any ill effects from the meal.” Thanks, I’ve always wanted to try that. Another thing on my bucket list.


9 posted on 10/06/2025 11:42:38 AM PDT by kawhill ("I'm going to miss your stories, Robert. You have your own ones now.")
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To: Red Badger

So, why didn’t the lion who brought it down then consume it? A lion risks his life when attacking a bison with horns like that. Did the bison injure or kill his attacker?


10 posted on 10/06/2025 11:44:22 AM PDT by Hebrews 11:6 (“…all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48)
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To: Red Badger

the research team decided to follow in the footsteps of Russian scientists who had come before them in introducing a little bit of the findings into an evening meal.

I remember reading that the Russian team ate theirs before they even got back to the lab...


11 posted on 10/06/2025 11:52:00 AM PDT by tet68 ("We would not die in that man's company that fears his fellowship to die with us." Henry V.)
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To: alexander_busek

How about a nice Chianti and some fava beans?


12 posted on 10/06/2025 11:53:33 AM PDT by crusty old prospector
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To: Red Badger

OK, now try Pliocene.


13 posted on 10/06/2025 11:54:44 AM PDT by crusty old prospector
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To: Hebrews 11:6

Bison are herd animals so it may have been trampled.................


14 posted on 10/06/2025 11:55:50 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: crusty old prospector

Sorry, we’re fresh out of Pliocene.

We’re expecting some in next Tuesday................


15 posted on 10/06/2025 11:57:09 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

That is so gross and unappetizing


16 posted on 10/06/2025 11:59:52 AM PDT by albie
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To: albie

Just think of it as very old Mongolian BBQ...................


17 posted on 10/06/2025 12:03:34 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: alexander_busek
A suitable wine would have been appropriate.

I would go with some Mede made with that 3,000 year old honey, and maybe some melted ice procured from drilling deep into an Antartic ice shelf.
18 posted on 10/06/2025 12:16:40 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: alexander_busek

They did.


19 posted on 10/06/2025 12:21:29 PM PDT by nwrep
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To: Red Badger
This is the beginning of The Gulag Archipelago.

In 1949 some friends and I came upon a noteworthy news item in Nature, a magazine of the Academy of Sciences. It reported in tiny type that in the course of excavations on the Kolyma River a subterranean ice lens had been discovered which was actually a frozen stream— and in it were found frozen specimens of prehistoric fauna some tens of thousands of years old. Whether fish or salamander, these were preserved in so fresh a state, the scientific correspondent reported, that those present immediately broke open the ice encasing the specimens and devoured them with relish on the spot.

20 posted on 10/06/2025 12:21:35 PM PDT by edwinland
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