Guest bmorefossil Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Wow sweet hunk of tusk! I bet that would have been a huuuge tusk. go back and look at the first picture how its just sticking out and the rest could be in there still!, man dont you wish the whole thing was in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Now what do I do with this thing? It would look mighty fine sitting on a mantle, or hanging over a fire place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 go back and look at the first picture how its just sticking out and the rest could be in there still!, man dont you wish the whole thing was in there Now go back and look at the second picture and how you left that tooth beside it underwater! man don't you wish you'd picked it up. What you do with that thing..........is go back to that creek and find the rest of it! The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Now what do I do with this thing? Add the pics to the "Creature Feature: Mammoth" thread! Textures, shape, concentric growth rings, "bark"; it's a textbook ID reference example. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 For reference what is considered a trophy bull elephant in Africa has 100 LB tusks. Just this 29-30" section is close to 55 LB now that I've glued the chunks back in place. Now consider what these things weighed at 10 feet long, then consider the strength of the neck muscles required just to hold up the cantilevered load. That would have been one colossal beast. Now picture yourself in a loin cloth with your coterie of cazadores surrounding one of these things and poking at it with pointy sticks. One swat with those tusks would be like getting hit by a ship's mast. I would imagine that there were some high casualty rates among bands of hunters back in days of yore. The wimpiest of mammoths could have whipped the stuffing out of a modern bull elephant any day. These are the thoughts that run through my head when gazing down at one of these things in the field. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Now what do I do with this thing? Prize for the next Forum contest? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 "Now picture yourself in a loin cloth" OK, wait.....(Jeopardy theme plays)..... now that is just gross!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFossilHunter Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 This find is awesome. Ok , that's it, I am packing my stuff and moving to texas to find the rest of the tusk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy784 Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 This find is awesome. Ok , that's it, I am packing my stuff and moving to texas to find the rest of the tusk! Pick me up on the way Mike. I can't believe this guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metopocetus Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 For reference what is considered a trophy bull elephant in Africa has 100 LB tusks. Just this 29-30" section is close to 55 LB now that I've glued the chunks back in place. Now consider what these things weighed at 10 feet long, then consider the strength of the neck muscles required just to hold up the cantilevered load. That would have been one colossal beast. Now picture yourself in a loin cloth with your coterie of cazadores surrounding one of these things and poking at it with pointy sticks. One swat with those tusks would be like getting hit by a ship's mast. I would imagine that there were some high casualty rates among bands of hunters back in days of yore. The wimpiest of mammoths could have whipped the stuffing out of a modern bull elephant any day. These are the thoughts that run through my head when gazing down at one of these things in the field. Wouldn't the tusk have been lighter in life? The fossilization process adds a lot of weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 Actually this sort of thing seems to lighten up a little bit with thorough drying. Still heavy stuff though, and a formidable weapon in its day. Although there is some sandstone and/or caliche on one end and in a few veins and interstitial cracks, the ivory is quite fragile and would have fragged during drying had I not infiltrated developing cracks with superglue then coated it with Butvar. Now it has a slight sheen on the end broken in cross section, but I'd rather have a little sheen than a pile of dust. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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