The complex project known as "Mammoth of Kikinda" has come together under the auspices of the Municipality of Kikinda, National Museum of Kikinda, Kikinda Regional Chamber of Commerce, Natural History Museum of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, the "Toza Marković" company of Kikinda and the Institute for Cultural Development Study of Belgrade. The project has brought together more than 90 experts from various fields - paleontology, archaeology, management, information technologies, cultural tourism, economy and marketing, engaging specialists for over 12 months to make this project come to life. The "Mammoth of Kikinda" has grown into a comprehensive cultural-tourism product that is the backbone of planned cultural tourism for the region.
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A special section of the project entails a virtual 3D presentation of the Kikinda mammoth, which premiered as part of the permanent exhibition of the National Museum of Kikinda.
In addition to the well done 3D presentation, assisted by modern-day technologies and a team of experts, a life-size replica of its skeleton had also been made. |
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Archaeology professor Dr Sofija Stefanović, one of the authors of a project called "In the Mammoth's Company", spoke about the ambitious ideas and their realisation:
- The remains of the mammoth of the genus Mammuthus trogontherii were found in Kikinda, a town in the northern Vojvodina province, in 1996 on the premises of the "Toza Marković" factory, one of the largest brick and tile manufacturers in the Balkans. Non-contact laser scanning of the remains of the mammoth began and this enabled computer models of the bones to be obtained, which served as a basis for designing film animation and a CD illustration. The mammoth's appearance had earlier been reconstructed and conserved through archaeological methods. Thus did the giant pre-historic animal that lived on European soil 500,000 years ago 'come back to life'.
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The mammoth, a distant relative of today's elephant and one of the most imposing mammals to have walked the Earth, lived in the geological epoch called the Pleistocene, a period between one million years ago to 19,000 years ago. The best known representative of this species is the frozen, mummified young of this animal called Dina, dug out in Siberia in 1901. The word mammoth came to us via Russia and is derived from the Tartar language. It is related to the word "mamma", which means earth.
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Fossil remains of the mammoth Kika, as the huge animal discovered here has been named, belongs to the type Mammuthus trogontherii, as determined by the appearance of its molars. This type of mammoth is also called steppe mammoth and precedes Mammuthus primigenius, which, owing to its long fur is also called the woolly mammoth. The skeleton is almost all there, and about 90 percent of the bone mass has been preserved. What is missing are the feet and scapulas, which were probably washed away by water or fell prey to scavengers. This was a female, which may be inferred from the shape of the pelvis. Her age at the time of death has been estimated at 64 (on the basis of tusk examination).
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The Kikinda mammoth was about 4.7 meters tall, about 7 meters long with tusks 3.5 meters long. Together with skin and flesh, it weighed around seven tonnes. It had short brownish-reddish fur. The animal probably got stuck in the swampy area and, owing to its advanced age, could not pull itself free. It then fell prey to scavengers, as borne out by the traces of visible bites on the bones inflicted by hyenas. The remains of other organisms were found in the same area. |
The most interesting of these were water voles, fish, snails, shellfish as well as fern spores and fossilized willow leaves. The entire site with all its findings is of exceptional importance in terms of paleontology. The Plane of Pannonia is that mysterious transitional area where the cold climate of Central Europe and the mild climate of the Balkans meet.
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The "Mammoth of Kikinda" project is part of a broader integral project designed to see through a total revitalisation of the cultural landscape of the No. 2 "Toza Marković" factory plant. The future natural-cultural complex of the plant will embrace a Museum of Quartar, which will exhibit the original fossil remains of the mammoth, the Museum of Brickmaking, which will show the 150-year tradition of brick-making in Kikinda, and the Museum of Terra, which will display the major works of an international sculptors' art colony that has been there for 25 years. The project has been approved for realisation as part of the Regional Socio-Economic Development Program, an EU-funded project managed by the European Agency for Reconstruction. The Agency is allocating 89 percent of the needed funds for the project, while the remainder will be provided by the Municipality of Kikinda.
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Presentation
The "Mammoth of Kikinda" project was presented at the 29th International Tourism Industry Fair in Belgrade and the 34th International Tourist Industry Fair in Novi Sad, as well as at the "EKO BIS" Fair in Bihać, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The project team members have also shown the project results at the 32nd Conference on Social Theory, Politics and the Arts (STP&A 2006) in Vienna and CIPA/ VAST 2006 international scientific conference in Nicosia, Cyprus.
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