Mexico City 12,000 Year-old Mammoth

12,000 Year-old Intact Giant Mammoth Uncovered Near Mexico City

Mexican archaeologists associated with the country’s National Institute of Anthrolopology and History have uncovered the intact skeleton remains of a giant mammoth.

The discovery was made near Mexico City in the town of Santa Ana Tlacotenco.  The giant mammoth, which is nearly uncovered, is thought to have existed some 10,000-to-14,000 thousand years ago.  This mammoth is estimated to have weighted 10 tons and be 17 feet tall. 

The skeleton was found in what was once a ditch; it is believed the mammoth fell in after experiencing a volcanic eruption.  Mexican experts do not believe their find is the fabled woolly mammoth but rather a ‘Mammuthus columbi’.  The ‘mammuthus’ is an extinct species of elephants that lived in Texas and Mexico where they were very common thousands of years ago.

The skeletal remains have stayed in tact in great part to the mammoth being buried in hot ash until its discovery in March. 

Last year the well-preserved skeletal remains of a mammoth that lived between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago were discovered in the central Mexican state of Queretaro.