Mammoth ivory - Alaska, USA

Mammoth ivory

Mammuthus primigenius

Pleistocene

Alaska - USA

Sale of mammoth ivory, extracted from permafrost layers, is legal (this is not the case for the ivory of elephants, whose tusks have been banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1989).

Distinguishing mammoth ivory is relatively simple. It looks more like a piece of wood than an elephant tusk. This mammoth ivory is often highly colored and textured by the soil in which it has been buried since the Pleistocene (10,000 to 100,000 years ago). Its exterior surface is primarily brown, which becomes lightly tanned toward the interior (a patina highly valued by sculptors and collectors). The texture is also most often rough and broken.