Mammoth skeleton discovered during excavation in Mexico City

The fossilized remains of a 14,000-year-old mammoth were discovered near Mexico City during a drain installation. Mexican experts are now completing the excavation work near the village of Tultepec.

The mammoth bones were found scattered across the area. This suggested that the early humans cut up the ancient mammoth for pelt and meat. The skeleton is believed to be between 12,000 and 14,000 years old.

The other bones were unearthed in what used to be a shallow lake where heavy ancient mammoths got trapped. The position of the remains suggested that the mammoth died after being trapped, largely due to heavy build and mass. Later, the ancient humans and other predators cut up the mammoth.

Archaeologists unearth the remains of a 14,000-year-old Columbian mammoth in the Tultepec village in Mexico City. The fossilized remains were discovered during a drain installation, lying two meters underneath a village street. ( Photo: Tech Times)

The mammoth skull measured 1 meter in width, while the tusks spanned over 10 feet. The skeleton belonged to a North American mammoth called Mammuthus columbi (Columbian mammoth). Experts estimated that the mammoth weighed about 10 tonnes (11.02 tons) and measured 16 feet tall.

Archaeologist Luis Cordoba from the National Institute of Anthropology and History said that the fossilized remains of more than 50 mammoths had been unearthed in Mexico City’s surrounding areas.

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Source: http://www.techtimes.com/