11/8/2019 Mexico mammoths: Human-built woolly mammoth traps found in Tultepec - BBC News

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Mexico mammoths: Human-built woolly mammoth traps found in

Tultepec

7 November 2019

EPA

At least 14 woolly mammoth skeletons have been uncovered in Mexico in traps built by
humans about 15,000 years ago.

The two pits in Tultepec north of Mexico City are the first mammoth traps to be discovered,
officials say.

Early hunters may have herded the elephant-sized mammals into the traps using torches and
branches.

The recent discovery of more than 800 mammoth bones could change our understanding of
how early humans hunted the enormous animals.
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Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says more traps could be
uncovered in the area north of Mexico City.

Last mammoths 'died of thirst'

Archaeologists thought early humans only killed mammoths if the animals were trapped or
hurt.

However, INAH's discovery of the human-built traps could mean such hunts were planned.

Diego Prieto Hernández, director of the institute, 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".

The two pits are about 1.7m (5ft 6in) deep and 25m in diameter. Excavations at the site have
been taking place for 10 months.

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AFP / INAH

AFP / INAH

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AFP / INAH

EPA

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