Teeth and ivory

Teeth are sometimes used as trophies or in spiritual or symbolic objects. Hunters sometimes keep the teeth or claws of animals they have killed to prove their skill and experience. These are often made into personal decorations, such as necklaces, or sown to clothing. Teeth have been used as proof of how many animals have been killed, which can be an indication of the hunter s prowess or wealth. For instance, Plains Indian tribes used elk teeth as signs of wealth, and displayed them sewn on clothing. 

Ivory is the term used to describe large teeth, usually from mammals. Some large reptile teeth have also been referred to as ivory. Ivory is composed largely of dentine, the compound that makes up the hard substance of a tooth. 

Fossilized ivory is a popular material in the few places in the world where it is found in commercial amounts because it does not fall within the restrictions 

Top hippopotamus tooth center boars tusk bottom sperm whale teeth. 

These items are made to bok like ivory, but they are made of bakelite (knife), cellubid (hat pin), and ceramic (brooch). 

---

For thousands of years, men have been using natural composite materials. Materials such as wood [a polymer-polymer composite made of cellulose fibers in a lignin/hemi-cellulose matrix], bone [a polymer-ceramic composite made of hydroxyapatite reinforced with collagen fibers], teeth, and ivory are natural composites. In ancient Egypt, more than 5000 years ago, brick makers added short lengths of straw to Nile mud mixed with sand and water, in order to improve the mechanical properties of the bricks. In Mesopotamia too, this combination of materials was employed to make tubes designed for the transportation of water. 

---