TULA.- In a remarkable example of community collaboration and scientific discovery, paleontological remains believed to be more than 10,000 years old have been recovered in the municipality of Tula, Tamaulipas. The find includes bones from large prehistoric mammals—possibly a mastodon or mammoth, along with a camelid and a prehistoric horse.

The discovery was set in motion by a local resident, who noticed what looked like a bone protruding from a stream bank and promptly alerted local authorities. That tip led to a formal report filed with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which dispatched a team to investigate on April 17.

Within hours, experts from the INAH Tamaulipas Center, including director Tonantzin Silva Cárdenas, biologist Ángel Banda Ortiz, and archaeologists Esteban Ávalos Beltrán and Hugo Fernández Ramírez, were on-site documenting and carefully recovering the remains to prevent looting or damage.

“The first visible bone was a coxal, or hip bone, of a large proboscidean—likely a mammoth or mastodon,” explained biologist Banda Ortiz. “But as we expanded the excavation, we also uncovered part of a camelid jaw with teeth and a molar from an equid, an ancestor of modern horses.”

The site, located in what appears to be an ancient alluvial deposit, contained layers of sediment—sand, gravel, and silt—ideal for preserving fossil remains over millennia. The team worked through April 18, supported by the local government, including Mayor René Lara Cisneros, who secured assistance from the Tamaulipas State Police to guard the site during the operation.

Once recovered, the bones were transported to INAH’s archaeology lab in Ciudad Victoria for cleaning, conservation, and further analysis. While more studies are needed, initial findings date the fossils to the Late Pleistocene Epoch, a period known for its diversity of megafauna and ending roughly 10,000 years ago.

INAH officials emphasized the importance of citizen involvement in protecting Mexico’s cultural and natural heritage.

“This is a powerful example of what can happen when the public, local authorities, and institutions work together,” said Silva Cárdenas. “We encourage anyone who comes across what might be archaeological or fossil remains to report it immediately. It could lead to an important discovery like this one.”

The institute is expected to release more details as analysis of the bones progresses.