Mexican archaeologists recently announced their discovery of two mammoth traps, where wholly mammoths could be herded then killed once trapped. Most importantly, the pits have been dated to 15,000 years ago. That makes them the oldest evidence of prehistoric hunting pits in the Americas.
The two pits contained about 824 bones from at least 14 mammoths. And one of the skulls found had marks of a spear wound on the front, suggesting that hunters were actively attacking the large mammoths.
Previously, it was thought that human hunters during this period were frightening mammoths into getting stuck in swamps and then waiting for them to die. The pits combined with the evidence of a spear wound show that human hunters were already taking a more active role in getting their dinners.
