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Ivory trade in Ghana, 1690. Elephant ivory has been exported from Africa and Asia for millennia with records going back to the 14th century BCE.Transport of the heavy commodity was always difficult, and with the establishment of the early-modern slave trades from East and West Africa, freshly captured slaves were used to carry the heavy tusks to the ports where both the tusks and their ...
Tusks are generally curved and have a smooth, continuous surface. The male narwhal's straight single helical tusk, which usually grows out from the left of the mouth, is an exception to the typical features of tusks described above. Continuous growth of tusks is enabled by formative tissues in the apical openings of the roots of the teeth. [2] [3]
Plateau dentalium choker and bracelet, from Nez Perce National Historical Park, 19th century, made using Antalis pretiosa shells. The word dentalium, as commonly used by Native American artists and anthropologists, refers to tooth shells or tusk shells used in indigenous jewelry, adornment, and commerce in western Canada and the United States.
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same, regardless of the species of origin, but ivory contains structures of mineralised collagen ...
The tusk, which could be anywhere from 11,700 to 75,000 years old, was found partially exposed from the mud bank. - Courtesy Eddie Templeton
These cracks can be seen throughout the length of the tusk. Whole cross-sections of walrus tusks are generally oval with widely spaced indentations. The dentine is composed of two types: primary dentine and secondary (often called osteodentine). Primary dentine has a classical ivory appearance. Secondary dentine is marble or oatmeal-like.
Benin Altar Tusks (Edo: Aken’ni Elao) are ivory artefacts from the Benin Kingdom in present-day Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.These tusks date back to the 16th century and measure approximately 61 inches (1,500 mm) in height, 5.2 inches (130 mm) in width, 4.7 inches (120 mm) in depth, and weighing 25 kilograms (55 lb) according to a sample at the British Museum.
Walrus tusks, for example, may have been acquired in trade from indigenous walrus hunters. Scrimshaw was a leisure activity for creative whalers. Life aboard a whaling ship often included long stretches of time between whale sightings, which gave those onboard a great deal of free time for creative pursuits.