A group of archaeologists unearthed around 60 bones of mammoths in an under-construction airport just north of Mexico City, according to a recently published article. 

Hundreds of Mammoth Bones Found Last Year

Mexican archaeologists discovered last year the first-ever pits built around 15,000 years ago to trap mammoths. Researchers from Mexico's National Insitute of Anthropology said that two pits contained at least 14 mammoths and 824 bones. 

The first sign of the pits was accidentally found in January last year during the excavation to prepare the land as a dump site of wastes. Moreover, the excavation becomes historical as they found remains of the mammoths that will contribute to the growing body of culture in Mexico.

Luis Córdova Barradas, the leader of the five-person excavation team, said that the discovery in the neighborhood of Tultepec, just north of Mexico City, marks "a watershed in the study of the relationship between prehistoric hunting and gathering communities and the huge herbivores" according to a published article.

Experts Found Bones of Mammoths in an Under Construction Airport  

A group of archaeologists unearthed around 60 bones of mammoths in an under-construction airport and near the place where more than 800 bones of mammoths were also found last year just north of Mexico City.

Mexican archaeologists also said that they are discovering an excessive amount of mammoths which is too many to ever excavate. This means that there could be hundreds of mammoths that were buried in the area. 

Pedro Sánchez Nava, an archaeologist of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, said: "There are too many, there are hundreds."

How Did they Discover the Bones? 

It was in October last year when the Institute started digging into three large and shallow areas. The place was an old military airbase and is now under construction to turn it into a civilian airport. The construction is said to be completed in 2022, the same year as well the digging will end according to an article. 

According to Sanchez, in just six months they were able to unearth around 60 bones of mammoths. He also said that around 10 mammoths were unearthed every month. He is also expecting more bones to be unearthed in the coming months.

Sanchez believed that the "The shallow lake apparently produced generous quantities of grasses and reeds, which attracted mammoths who often ate 150kg (330lb) of the stuff every day. It was like a paradise for them."

Moreover, the excavation site where around 60 bones of mammoths were found is just around 10 kilometers away from the mammoth pits last year. Still, the experts believed that the pits found in 2019 were intended by the hunters as they chased the mammoths into the traps. 

However, the new discovery at the airbase, so far, did not yet reveal any marks of human butchering to the mammoths. Sanchez believed that the recently found mammoth was either eaten by other animals or was stuck in the mud of the ancient lake.

He also added that another possibility could be that ancient humans could possibly use the mud pools to trap the animals according to a report. "It's possible they may have chased them into the mud," Sanchez said.

The discovery of mammoths in Mexico City will help understand and change the views of scientists as to how frequently ancient people include the animal as part of their meal. 

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