Assuming mammoths behaved like modern elephants [1], it could have been to lure and entrap living mammoth wishing to commemorate their dead. Therein, slaughter.

Assuming mammoths behaved like modern elephants [1], it could have been to lure and entrap living mammoth wishing to commemorate their dead. Therein, slaughter. The emotional impact of being surrounded by ancestors might have made it easier to kill them. You'd just need to leave or find a carcass out in the open. Over the seasons, you'd gradually move it closer to the killing ground. [1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/elephants-mourning-video-animal-grief/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/elephants-mo...