Mammoth central facts for kids
Mammoth Central (called Central de Mamuts in Spanish) is an amazing fossil site in Mexico. It's located on the land where the Santa Lucía Airport is being built, in the state of Mexico. This special place holds the bones of at least 200 Columbian mammoths! That's a lot of mammoths!
Scientists have also found the remains of 25 camels and five horses here. Mammoth Central is now the biggest collection of mammoth bones ever found in one spot. Before this, the largest site was The Mammoth Site in South Dakota, which had 61 mammoths. Tools made by early humans and bones with carvings have also been found. This suggests that ancient people might have used this area to trap and hunt these huge animals. New fossils are still being discovered as construction continues. The digging is expected to finish in 2022, when the airport is complete.
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What Was Mammoth Central Like Long Ago?
Scientists think this area was once the muddy, wet edge of an ancient lake. Animals like mammoths might have gotten stuck in the soft ground between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago.
Did Humans Hunt Mammoths Here?
Many tools made by humans have been found at the site. Some experts believe that early humans may have guided the mammoths into this boggy area to hunt them. An archaeologist named Rubén Manzanilla López, from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, has said that the mammoths' bones look like they were "carved up" by humans.
It's not totally clear if the mammoths died naturally and then humans found them, or if humans hunted them directly. What we do know is that this site is only about 12 miles (19 km) away from other places where humans dug pits to trap and kill large animals long ago.
How Was This Amazing Site Found?
Mammoth Central was discovered while workers were building the new Mexico City Santa Lucía Airport. Because so many bones and ancient tools are being found, every bulldozer and construction worker has an archaeologist with them. Construction has even been stopped many times so that archaeologists can carefully dig up new discoveries.
Why Is This Discovery Important?
Researchers are very excited about Mammoth Central. They hope it will help them understand why the Columbian mammoths disappeared. Paleontologist Joaquin Arroyo Cabrales thinks the site will show that a mix of climate change and human activity led to the mammoths' extinction. It's a chance to learn more about Earth's past and how big changes affected life.
See also
- La Brea Tar Pits
- List of mammoth specimens
- Waco Mammoth National Monument
In Spanish: Central de Mamuts para niños
