The earliest-known camels dwelled in the territory of modern Tajikistan about 2.5 million years ago. 

A camel scull discovered by a joint group of Russia and Tajik paleontologists in Tajikistan is 2.5 million years old discovered a camel skull that is 2.5 million years.   

The Russian and Tajik paleontologists have reportedly discovered a unique find in the Kuruksai hole (Baljuvon district in Tajikistan’s Khatlon province).

The Ural Federal University (UrFU)’s website noted on November 29 that the find is of great value since researchers usually find individual parts of the skull or bones, and this skull was found intact.

The find was delivered to Yekaterinburg, the capital of Russia’s Sverdlovsk oblast, for restoration and study for three years.  Then the skull will be returned to Tajikistan for further research.

It is noted that that with such ancient remains, scientists will be able to determine what the camel ate and what its brain size was.

“If we compare the found skull with the skull of a modern camel, the sizes are approximately the same,” said Dmitry Girmanov, a senior fellow, UrFU Laboratories of Natural Science Methods in Humanities Research.   

The Ural Federal University notes that during the early Pleistocene, the savanna-like landscapes with climates similar to climate of modern North Africa spread across the territory of Tajikistan.  Scientists suggest that ancient camels adapted to these conditions did not have characteristic humps.   In a favorable environment they did not require a long-term supply of nutritional resources.