During the last ice age, large parts of northwestern Europe and North America were covered in a layer of ice up to 3,000 meters thick. During this period, the woolly mammoth lived on the tundra and in the forest.

The mammoth also lived in Norway. About 20 mammoth remains have been found in this country, mainly in Gudbrandsdalen, but also as far south as Jessheim. Presumably, these were Siberian mammoths that immigrated to Norway from the east during a mild phase of the last ice age, when the valleys and lowlands were clear of ice, and had enough plant growth to maintain the mammoth population. When it got cold again, the mammoth disappeared.

The exhibited tusk is not Norwegian; it was found in Siberia and is approx. 23,000 years old.