During the Last Glacial Maximum, the mammoth steppe was the Earth’s most extensive biome. It spanned from Spain eastwards across Eurasia to Canada and from the arctic islands southwards to China.[1][2][3][4][5] It had a cold, dry climate;[6][6] the vegetation was dominated by palatable high-productivity grasses, herbs and willow shrubs,[3][6][7] and the animal biomass was dominated by bison, horses, and the woolly mammoth.[7] This ecosystem covered wide areas of the northern part of the globe, thrived for approximately 100,000 years without major changes, and then suddenly became all but extinct about 12,000 years ago.[7]