The death of a woolly mammoth provides the building material for a prehistoric storage space. A tsunami in Japan puts a sturdy outbuilding to the test. And an American boy scout assembles parts for the nuclear reactor he’s building in his mother’s shed… A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started with a 7-day free trial. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23,000 years ago, in a part of the world that is now northern Ukraine, a family is on the move.
A family of woolly mammoths.
A huge female, standing nearly 3 meters at the shoulder and weighing around 4 tons, leads the way.
She moves with a slow, ponderous motion, rolling her massive shoulders, kicking her tree trunk sized legs through the long grass.
Her magnificent tusks swish through the air as her head turns majestically from side to side.
A line of slightly smaller beasts, the other adult females, follow in her wake.
In the middle of them are two young calves, wide eyed and playful on their much shorter legs.
They have to trot to keep up with the adult's long stride.
A lumbering grandmother brings up the rear.
Her head bowed under the weight of her enormous tusks, they come to a river, a rare point of interest in a vast, almost featureless landscape.
The water is icy cold, but the leading mammoth barely feels it through her thick brown fur.
The old timer at the back drops further and further behind.
By the time she enters the water, the lead animal has already emerged on the far side.
Suddenly, the grass begins to stir.
Men rise from it.
Camouflaged by the clumps of vegetation they have attached their bodies.
In their hands are spears.
Yelling excitedly, the men surround the lagging animal.
They let their weapons fly.
At last, the once mighty beast is overwhelmed.