RUSSIA: Modern humans developed the skills to survive just about anywhere on Earth far earlier than was once thought. That is the conclusion after radiocarbon dating the well-preserved remains of a mammoth found by an 11-year-old boy in 2012. The skeleton is studded with signs of a prolonged battle with a group of humans, and dates to about 45,000 years ago, placing humans in the Arctic more than 10,000 years earlier than previous evidence suggested. In fact, the researchers believe that innovations in mammoth hunting made this northern occupation possible. —Samir S. Patel