A giant "graveyard" of about 60 mammoths has been discovered outside Mexico city, according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The remains were spotted ahead of the construction of an airport just outside Mexico City. INAH said bones from about 60 mammoths and 15 human burials were found near a former military base in Santa Lucia where the new General Felipe Angeles International Airport is under construction.
"Both discoveries shed light on Mexico's history and give experts an unprecedented opportunity to delve into more than 30,000 years of history," the INAH said in a May 22 statement. The mammoths, which included males, females, and their young, likely died by getting stuck in the lake which had varied depths and dried up into a swamp, the group said.
INAH, however, has ruled out any theories about humans killing the mammoths. The group said it is possible that hunters took advantage of the heavy animals once they were stuck in the mud.
According to Pedro Francisco Sánchez Nava, INAH's national coordinator of archaeology, the remains were found in three exploration areas and that archaeologists are still determining how many bones are complete.
