Mammoth tusk

Mammoth tusk (N.E. Siberia)6 Mastadon6 Sperm whale tooth Whale bone (rib)... 

Mammoth fossils are occasionally discovered in various parts of the world, from South Africa to Siberia. In America fossils of the mastodon, Mammut americanum, a relative of the mammoth, are also found. They died out about ten thousand years ago. Mastodon tusks have sometimes been carved, but the tusks most commonly used today come from the mammoth. Fair quantities are unearthed in Siberia, during the two months of the year when the permafrost softens sufficiently to permit digging. Finds are also made in Alaska. The carcasses are deep frozen, which means that the mammoth tusks are fresh and well preserved - not mineralised - though they are usually stained dark brown on the outside. Much of the material found is too degraded to use, and what is used can have a tendency to crack. For this reason the tusks are nowadays used for small carvings or in mounted slices as jewellery, with cracks disguised by ornamental filler. 

Mammoth tusks are not covered by trade bans, as the animal is already extinct and therefore not endangered. This makes mammoth ivory a popular substitute for elephant ivory today. 

In cross-section the mammoth tusk exhibits the same engine turning pattern as the elephant tusk (Fig. 3.12), and it can be impossible to tell them apart. Mammoth ivory can be a fraction darker in colour than elephant ivory, and does not take quite such a good polish. Also, the angles of intersection of the arcs in the dentine pattern tend to be narrower, at less than 90 degrees, as opposed to over 115 degrees in elephant ivory, though this can vary. 

This is an extremely rare fossilised mammoth ivory that originated in southern France. For many years it was thought to have been stained blue naturally by the presence of the mineral vivianite in the surrounding soil. However, it is now believed that the ivory was deliberately heat-treated in the Middle Ages, to resemble the mineral turquoise. It is easily mistaken for turquoise, but close inspection reveals the typical dentine patterning of mammoth tusk. Today odontolite is only seen in museums or private collections. 

Figure 3.12 Cross-secdon of mammoth tusk, showii engiiie turoii pattern.

Mammoth tusk Upper incisor Long, more curved than elephant, max. 4 m Round or oval Irregular wavy lines Can be thick, layered Intersecting arcs, ( engine turning pattern)... 

In that time there was a corridor between the ice layers in the north and the Alps in the south of Europe. It consisted of relatively warm tundra area which extended from former Czechoslovakia to the Ukraine and Siberia. It that area, or to be more precise in Dolni Vestonice (in the Czech Republic) archeologists found three huts not far from each other and next to a small river. These huts were found to be from around 27,000 BC. The place where they were found is situated in low-lying countryside and on limestone covered with loess. The framework of the walls and roofs was made of bones and tusks from mammoths (fig.2.3)... 

The diagnostic for certain ivories is their structural patterns, for example the engine turning pattern in elephant or mammoth ivory, the tapioca pudding look of the secondary dentine in walrus ivory, the diagonal pattern on narwhal ivory and the concentric lines and dark central spot of sperm whale ivory (F 3.4 and 3.12-3.17). In larger carvii or objects, the curvature of a tusk may be detectable. Examination of the structural pattern is needed to determine which type of tusk has been used. 

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