Prof. Kamila Pawłowska had the opportunity to examine the woolly rhinoceros skeleton at the Jagiellonian University's Centre for Nature Education. Her activities are part of the WOOLRHINOPOLI project, funded by the Polish National Science Centre.
Over half a century has passed since the last study of the woolly rhinoceros skeleton, while the research equipment has evolved dramatically. The current state of knowledge in this area was updated by Prof. Kamila Pawłowska of the Institute of Geology (AMU Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences), the initiator of the WOOLRHINOPOLI project.
- "The deficit of research on the woolly rhinoceros in Poland is surprising, given the relative abundance of its remains. Thus, we are unaware of the details of the woolly rhinoceros' presence; in particular, we do not know how widely it was distributed in Poland. Nor do we know whether its presence was permanent, temporary or periodic. Furthermore, no research to date has looked at ancient DNA, which could shed light on ancient populations," the WOOLRHINOPOLI project website states.
As part of the project, scientists will aim to unravel the above questions by studying woolly rhinoceros remains from Poland, the North Sea and selected European countries. The research seeks to taxonomically define the remains, determine age and gender, measure bones and skulls, identify pathological changes about past disease or trauma, determine the absolute age of the remains using radiocarbon dating, and analyse DNA.
Visit the WOOLRHINOPOLI project website!
photo: Institute of Geology