Mammoth Pits Shed Insight Into Prehistoric Trapping

by
posted on December 2, 2019
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
mammothpits_lead.jpg
Meliton Tapia / Associated Press

Several wooly mammoth skeletons recently discovered in Tultepec, Mexico, north of Mexico City, provide evidence to suggest that humans were actively trapping the giant mammals some 15,000 years ago.

Researchers from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History discovered a total of 824 mammoth bones from at least 14 animals, some bearing marks from spear attacks, at the bottom of two pits. It is believed the pits, each roughly 6 feet deep and 25 yards in diameter, were specifically designed to trap the animals, providing evidence of a direct intent by our early ancestors to hunt mammoths, as opposed to the previously held belief that mammoth were hunted passively or seen as a target of opportunity when injured or dying.

“There was little evidence before that hunters attacked mammoths. It was thought they frightened them into getting stuck in swamps and then waited for them to die,” Luis Córdova Barradas, the leader of the five-man dig team, told reporters. “This is evidence of direct attacks on mammoths.”

Barradas suspects that at the time the traps were built, the region likely held half a dozen mammoth herds. It is thought that early hunters may have used torches or branches to scare mammoths into the traps before using spears to kill them.

Bones from other long-extinct animals in the Americas, like the jawbone of a camel and tooth of a horse, were also found in the pits. Additional traps or bones discovered in the ongoing excavation may provide more insight into early hunting strategies.

Latest

Henry Lever Action Supreme On White
Henry Lever Action Supreme On White

Hardware Review: Henry Lever Action Supreme Rifle

Check out Frank Melloni's Hardware review of the Henry Lever Action Supreme.

NRA 2025 Subsidies for Hunters for the Hungry Programs

The National Rifle Association of America has announced its 2025 subsidy program for Hunters for the Hungry (HFH) organizations in the United States by making $100,000 available.

A Shotgun for All Seasons: Savage Renegauge in Argentina

If you want to test a shotgun’s reliability and recoil control, you take it on a high-volume hunt. If you want that trial to more resemble torture than test, you make that a high-volume Argentina dove hunt. Read on to find out how the Savage Renegauge performed.

NRA Names Kyle Lamb as Brand Ambassador for America’s Rifle Challenge

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) proudly announces Sergeant Major (Ret.) Kyle Lamb as a Brand Ambassador for the NRA America’s Rifle Challenge (ARC), an innovative training and competition program built around the safe and effective use of the AR-15 platform.

#SundayGunday: Banish 46-V2

On this week's #SundayGunday, we're talking about suppressors, specifically the Banish 46-V2, capable of taming nearly every gun in your safe, up to and including the big boys like .338 Lapua.

KelTec Named Official Stage Sponsor for 2025 NRA World Shooting Championship

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is proud to announce KelTec as an official sponsor of the 2025 NRA World Shooting Championship, returning to Camp Atterbury, Ind., from September 30 to October 4, 2025.

Interests



Get the best of American Hunter delivered to your inbox.