During the Pleistocene Epoch (2,600,000 BCE to 9,700 BCE) there were various times when there was a land bridge between the continents of Asia and North America. These were commonly known as the Beringia Land Bridge. This link is believed to have been at its largest (i.e. sea levels at their lowest) in approximately 18,000 BCE, during the last Pleistocene Glacial Stage.
     There has been speculation that this land link allowed for large scale human migration into North America. Weight has been added to this argument by recent studies carried out by Yakut scientists (Russian Federation), led by Doctor Albert Protopopov.
     On the island of Kotelney, located in the East Siberian Sea, the remains of a woolly mammoth had been found, which is now housed in the Mammoth museum in Yakutsk. The mammoth has been radiocarbon dated to approximately 19,000 BCE by the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo (Japan).
     Whilst the mammoth find in itself may not be all that remarkable, the method of its death proved to be more interesting. Extensive evidence was found to suggest that the mammoth had been systematically and comprehensively butchered by humans who, Dr Protopopov believes, were part of the great migration across the continents and he is quoted as saying "Recent DNA research suggests that the split in the populations [Asia and America] happened from around 25,000 years ago". He went on to add "This is one of the most interesting things in the discovery of this mammoth, as it will add more information to our knowledge of how people gradually moved towards America".

Edited from The Siberian Times (3 January 2020)