Human-Built Woolly Mammoth Traps Unearthed in Mexico

Mexican anthropologists have reported the discovery of two woolly mammoth traps believed to be dug by humans roughly 15,000 years ago.

The pits are located in Tultepec, directly north of Mexico City. They are the first ever woolly mammoth traps to be discovered, which raises all kinds of questions about how early humans hunted the enormous animals.

Diego Prieto Hernández, director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said the discovery “represents a watershed, a turning point in what we until now imagined to be the interaction between hunter-gatherers with these huge herbivores.”

More than 800 mammoth bones have been identified in the pits, which experts say came from at least 14 woolly mammoths. They also observed signs of butchering on some of the bones. Possibly from ancient hunters retaining the meat?

The INAH has not ruled out the possibility of more traps being found in the area.

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