CHILACACHAPA.- A remarkable discovery in the small community of Chilacachapa, northern Guerrero, has brought the distant past to life. On October 8, 2024, construction workers stumbled upon fossilized bones of a gomphothere, an extinct relative of today's elephants that roamed the Earth over 16,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch. The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) quickly stepped in to recover these invaluable remains.


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A Glimpse into an Ancient World

The fossils, belonging to a single animal, include pieces of tusks, ribs, a shoulder blade, and leg bones. While some fragments are still being identified, the find offers a rare window into the prehistoric creatures that once rohabited this region.

Local villagers are now safeguarding these ancient treasures. The Union of Farmers Collaborative Committee in Chilacachapa, located in the municipality of Cuetzala del Progreso, has taken on the important role of protecting the site and the recovered artifacts.


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To help the community understand the significance of this discovery, INAH held a special presentation on June 11, 2025, for local students. Researchers shared insights into the presence of megafauna in Guerrero, pointing to a map illustrating areas where similar remains have been found, particularly along the Balsas River mountain range.

"Their presence provides clues to where this species once lived in what is now Guerrero territory, and it's the first physical evidence we have in this specific area," explained Jorge Cervantes Martínez, an INAH researcher leading the project with archaeologist Antonio Hermosillo Worley. He added that since this species is native to the Americas, the find supports the theory that this region was once part of a major corridor connecting to South America.

Unearthing Clues, Planning for More

The bones were found about three meters deep inside a septic tank, meaning researchers couldn't conduct a full archaeological excavation. Because of this, details about the exact context, like the soil layers and how the bones were positioned, remain unknown.

Despite being fragmented and somewhat damp, the bones are in surprisingly good condition. This suggests there might be more gomphothere remains nearby, prompting INAH to request an archaeological salvage project for the adjacent property.

For now, the recovered fragments have been carefully cleaned, stabilized, and packed away, with four of the larger pieces now on display in a protective showcase. While precise dating hasn't been completed, initial hypotheses suggest the fossils could be between 10,000 and 2.5 million years old, based on similarities to another local discovery in Zapotitlán Tablas.

The findings have been reported to the INAH Paleontology Council, led by researcher Eduardo Corona Martínez, who provided expert guidance on identifying the species.

The public information session was a community event, attended by local officials including Héctor Romeo Torres Calderón, head of the INAH Guerrero Center, municipal president José Luis Aparicio Villanueva, and Chilacachapa commissioner Miriam Estrada Ferrer, among others, underscoring the collective effort to preserve this unique piece of natural history.


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