Giant ‘mammoth trap’ pits dug by ancient humans who ‘butchered and ate’ their catch discovered
GIANT pits dug by prehistoric humans to trap woolly mammoths 15,000 years ago have been found in Mexico.
Filled with the bones of at least 14 mammoths, experts said the trenches were used to capture and butcher massive prey.
They're believed believed to be the first find of mammoth traps set by humans.
The discovery was made by researchers from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
They said Wednesday the pits were uncovered during excavations on land that was to be used as a rubbish dump.
Some of the animal remains, discovered in Tultepec, just north of Mexico City, bore signs of butchering.
The institute said hunters may have chased mammoths into the traps, which were about 6ft deep and 75ft long.
It's believed at least five mammoth herds lived in the area of the find.
Remains of two other species that disappeared in the Americas – a horse and a camel – were also found.
It was unclear if plans for the dump would proceed.
Woolly mammoth – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- The woolly mammoth is an ancient creature that is now extinct
- The species first appeared 400,000 years ago in East Asia when it "diverged" from the steppe mammoth
- Its closest living relative today is the Asian elephant
- Woolly mammoths are one of the best-studied prehistoric animal, due to the discovery of frozen carcasses in Siberia and Alaska
- We also have evidence of them in the form of skeletons, teeth, droppings and cave paintings
- A woolly mammoth was similarly sized to a modern African elephant
- Males were typically around 11ft tall, and weighted up to 6 metric tons
- Females were smaller at 9.5ft tall and 4 metric tons
- A newborn calf weighed around 90 kilos, or 200 lb
- Woolly mammoths were well-adapted to the frosty temperatures of the last Ice Age, thanks to their fur coats
- They largely disappeared from the mailand around 10,000 years ago, thanks to a shrinking habitat and hunting by humans
- Isolated populations survived on Arctic islands until as recently as 4,000 years ago
The woolly mammoth roamed the Earth across Siberia and North America during the last Ice Age until around 10,000 years ago.
Adults grew up to 11ft tall and weighed as much as nine cows.
Prehistoric humans hunted mammoths for food and other resources, a practice that eventually led to the breasts' demise.
A shrinking habitat and climate change are also thought to have helped drive them to extinction.
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In other news, it emerged last month that the last woolly mammoths died on a remote Arctic island just 4,000 years ago.
Scientists hope to resurrect woolly mammoths using frozen ancient remains found in Siberia.
And a five-foot mammoth tusk was recently dug up alongside an ancient camel and a "giant wolf" in Mexico.
Which extinct creature would you most like to see brought back to life? Let us know in the comments!
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