Two Traps Where Woolly Mammoths Were Driven to Their Deaths Found in Mexico
by Brigit Katz/Smithsonian.com
In the neighborhood of Tultepec, just north of Mexico City, plans were recently underway to convert a patch of land into a garbage dump. But during preparatory excavations, workers at the site found themselves digging up woolly mammoth bones—hundreds of them. Over the course of ten months of archaeological and anthropological work, experts were able to piece together a grim picture of what appears to have been a prehistoric hunting site. The team had, according to the Associated Press, stumbled upon two large man-made traps—pits where hunters drove woolly mammoths to their deaths.
Researchers with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced the discovery this week, saying that it lends “unprecedented context” to experts’ understanding of how ancient humans hunted woolly mammoths. The pits date to 15,000 years ago, each measuring 5.5 feet deep and 82 feet long, reports CNN‘s Jack Guy. Inside the pits were 824 mammoth bones, among them eight skulls, five jaws, a hundred vertebrae and 179 ribs. Experts say the remains correspond to at least 14 individual mammoths. Bones belonging to a camel and a horse were also found.
Apparently, this is one mammal that was far ranging on nearly every continent, even Britain where mammoth remains have been found.
These critters really got around.
Eating these critters predates the mole sauces. So what did they use?
Maybe mole sauce was created for mammoth steaks.
“Hey man, this mammoth tastes awful, what can we use to spice it up a bit?”