Ancient ivory specimens

Table III. Analyses and Color of Ancient Ivory Specimens from Acem Hiiyiik, Anatolia (19th- 18th Century B.C.)...

Table VIII. Comparison of Composite" Values for Analyses of Excavated Ancient Near Eastern Ivory Specimens with Specimens of Unknown Provenance...

Additional Methods of Analysis. Racemization studies (11,12,13) hold considerable promise for the dating of ancient bone samples. If the diflBculties of shorter time span compared with those already studied, limited sample universe, and nonuniform burial conditions can be overcome, the application of this procedure to Ancient Near Eastern ivory specimens would be useful. Also of interest is the possibility (19,20,21,... 

Related Materials. Table II gives the results of elemental analyses for bone, ivory, and related specimens. The mastadon, mammoth, and ancient walrus sample analyses indicated retained proteinaceous matter in composition equivalent to that for modern elephant ivory. This suggests that these materials would not provide a ready source of aged ivory for a modem carver seeking to duplicate the texture and composition of ivory buried for well over 2,000 years. 

Tn a recent study we examined samples taken from ivory artifacts exca-vated at Hasanlu, Acem Hiiyiik, and Nimrud. Elemental analyses were obtained for carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen (I). The results for specimens of known provenance were used to develop preliminary criteria for Ancient Near Eastern archaeological ivory artifacts of uncertain provenance. The useful results obtained in that work suggested an extension of similar observations to other excavation sites in the Ancient Near East (Megiddo and Khorsabad). The range of analyses was extended to include fluorine. 

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