Why Researchers Ate a Stew Made from 50,000-Year-Old Bison Meat - Scientists once cooked and ate a 50,000-year-old frozen bison mummy

In 1979, gold prospectors in Alaska uncovered a remarkable find: a near-perfectly preserved bison mummy, frozen for around 50,000 years. Nicknamed Blue Babe, this Pleistocene creature became the centre of an unusual scientific experiment—one that involved cooking and tasting its ancient meat.

Blue Babe belonged to a time when mammoths roamed Alaska and humans had yet to arrive. The mummy showed signs of a violent end, with tooth fragments from a lion attack still lodged in its neck. Despite its age, the bison's remains were so well-preserved that scientists could butcher the meat, describing its texture as similar to beef jerky.

The research team prepared a stew using a portion of Blue Babe's neck, adding vegetables and spices to the 50,000-year-old meat. After sampling the dish, they reported a strange but not unpleasant flavour, accompanied by what they called a 'distinctly Pleistocene aroma'. None of the scientists fell ill, though modern experts now warn that consuming such ancient tissue carries serious risks.

At the time, the experiment sparked media fascination, with outlets like National Geographic covering the story. Yet today, the idea of eating Pleistocene meat is widely dismissed. Scientists now recognise the dangers of bacterial contamination, unknown toxins, and potential pathogens—making such taste tests a thing of the past.

Blue Babe remains the only known Pleistocene bison specimen ever discovered. The 1984 experiment marked a brief moment when ancient meat seemed edible, but safety concerns have since ended such practices. The mummy now serves as a rare window into Alaska's prehistoric past, rather than a source of food.