More than 30,000 years ago in the Iberian Peninsula it was much colder now, as evidenced by an analysis of the remains of woolly mammoths found in 1983 in a bog of Granada. Researchers at the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences, have studied the isotopic signal in the teeth of these extinct giants, the southernmost found in Europe, and found that the mean annual temperature in the area was between 9 and 11 degrees similar to currently registered in Denmark and southern Scandinavia.I
The bog of the Padul is the most southern point of the continent where they have found remains of these animals that lived during a time of intense episodes of cold and drought throughout Europe. These environmental changes caused changes in the isotopic composition of water and food intake, which in turn leaves a mark in the tissues of the mammoths. From the analysis of your teeth and bones, scientists have been able to get an idea of the environmental changes that occurred over the life of animals. "The teeth of woolly mammoths grew throughout his life and generated new enamel lamellae as the years passed. So, we can identify different isotopic compositions by sampling at different points of the molars," explained the authors of the study, published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.