Mexican Archaeology

Mexican Mammoths

Home | Origin of the Aztecs | Pre-Chichimecas | Aguascalientes | Mexican Mammoths | Mummies of Guanajuato | Acámbaro Masks | Acámbaro Man | Acámbaro Ornaments | Acámbaro Dinosaurs | Acámbaro Petroglyphs | Acámbaro Museums, Restaurants & Hotals | Acámbaro Prehistoric Birds | Clovis and Before | ARCHAEOLOGY DAY FIELD TRIPS

First a word about Mammoths and Mastodons
 
Mammoths    (Spanish name:  Mamút)
Adult weight:  6 to 8 tons. Height:  10  to 12 feet
In North and South America they became extinct about 11,000 years ago.  This was in the "late Pleistocene" era.  Just over 14,000 years ago humans migrated from Asia to North America.  They are called the "Clovis" people.  
 
Between 11,500 and 18,000 years ago the climate and the environment of North America underwent a change.  Temperatures warmed.  Rainfall patterns changed.  Glaciers melted.  Mammoths lived back to 18,000 to 20,000 years.  Mammoths are found in many parts of Mexico, especially in the States of Jalisco (in the area of Lake Sayula and nearer the coast),  Guanajuato, and Aguascalientes (in the areas of Rio Verde and near the town on Charcas).
 
 
Mastodons
Adult weight:  4 to 6 tons.   Height:  8 to 10 feet.
They also went extinct about 11,000 years ago, although some fossils have been dated as far back as 3.75 million years.  Their fossils are common in a number of the mid-western states.  They generally date from 11,000 to 40,000 years ago. (see attached photo)
 

fixing_skull2mastodonunivmich.jpg
Mastodon Skull repair. Univ. of Michigan

mammoth.jpg
Mammoth - Dallas Museum of Natural History - photo by Dr. Charles Spurgeon