Artist's notes

During the Ice Age, many animals, including mastodons, found refuge in southern areas like California. The mastodons, relatives of modern elephants, had shorter, stockier frames and lived in small herds, primarily eating conifer needles and cones. They were nurturing parents, with females giving birth to one calf at a time. Humans arrived around 15,000 years ago and set fires, likely to help hunt. The fires damaged the landscape, turning forests into barren shrubland. By 12,800 years ago, most large animals, including mastodons, had gone extinct. Later, Native Americans learned to manage the land, but it was too late for the large species.