Mexico: Archaeologists discover 15,000-year-old mammoth mass grave

In Mexico, researchers have discovered around 15,000 years old remains of 14 mammoths. The find was made in Tultepec near the capital Mexico City.

However, the discovery is interesting for a different reason: apart from the remains of the animals, the archaeologists found pits. These were apparently designed by humans as targeted mammoth traps, according to a report by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

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The discovery was made during excavations on the site of a planned landfill in about 40 kilometers north of Mexico City located Tultepec. It found two pits 1.7 meters deep and 25 meters in diameter with walls at almost straight angles and 824 bones, including eight skulls. The age was determined by a fine layer of dust from the eruption of the volcano Popocatépetl about 14,700 years ago.

The find changed the view of the region's early hunters and gatherers, as they apparently hunted with sophisticated methods even then. So far, researchers had assumed that humans attacked mammoths only when they were an easy victim - for example, because they were stuck in a swamp. "The find represents a change in thinking about the interaction between humans and the trunks," says Pedro Sánchez Nava, chief archaeologist of INAH.

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Remains of mammoths have been found in the area in the state of Mexico. The archaeologists now suspect in the area more pitfalls.

In addition, 15,000-year-old human traces are very unusual for the region. The first humans arrived on the continent 18,000 to 26,000 years ago over the north of Asia and reached the region of today's Mexico first in individual groups, many researchers believe. Bones from humans older than 12,000 to 13,000 years old are considered an exception.