Huge trove of mammoth skeletons found in Mexico

Archaeologists said Wednesday they have made the largest-ever discovery ofmammothremains: atroveof 800 bones from at least 14 of the extinct giantsfoundin centralMexico.

Moreover, they believe they have made the first-ever find of amammothtrap set by humans, who would have used it to capture thehugeherbivores more than 14,000 years ago, saidMexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

"This is the largest find of its kind ever made," the institute said in a statement.

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The skeletal remains werefoundin Tultepec, near the site where President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government is building a new airport forMexico City.

Some bore signs that the animals had been hunted, leading experts to conclude that they hadfound"the world's firstmammothtrap," it said.

"Mammoths lived here for thousands of years. The herds grew, reproduced, died, were hunted... They lived alongside other species, including horses and camels," archaeologist Luis Cordoba told journalists.

Researchers said at least fivemammothherds lived in the area of the find.

Mexicohas been the scene of surprisingmammothdiscoveries before.

In the 1970s, workers building theMexico Citysubwayfoundamammothskeleton while digging on the capital's north side.