Artist's notes

During the last Ice Age, Finland was covered by a thick ice sheet, but as it retreated, parts of the land were exposed, allowing hardy tundra plants like mosses and small willows to grow. These plants attracted animals like the woolly mammoth, which had adapted to cold climates and lived across a vast area from Spain to China. During cold periods, mammoths even crossed a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska. While the closest living relative of the mammoth is the Asian elephant, they evolved separately. As the Ice Age ended and the ice retreated, mammoths became extinct around 10,000 years ago in Europe. A few mammoth bones, including a 15,500-year-old shoulder bone from Helsinki, have been found in Finland.