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Is This A Mastodon Tusk Fossil


hambone

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I recently got this specimen and NEED YOUR HELP in identifying it Please! It is 6 inches long and 6 inches in girth and weighs almost 2 lbs. I live in new mexico and acquired it here, But I don't know if this is where it originated from to start with. Thank you for your time and effort in helping with the identification of this specimen!

post-17716-0-39884200-1425191014_thumb.jpgpost-17716-0-89014900-1425191299_thumb.jpg Regards, Hambone

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Sure would help to see the broken end........

The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence".

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I recently got this specimen and NEED YOUR HELP in identifying it Please! It is 6 inches long and 6 inches in girth and weighs almost 2 lbs. I live in new mexico and acquired it here, But I don't know if this is where it originated from to start with. Thank you for your time and effort in helping with the identification of this specimen!

attachicon.giftusk.jpgattachicon.giftusk picture 2.jpg Regards, Hambone

Here are a few more pics.post-17716-0-10215100-1425208346_thumb.jpgpost-17716-0-58992900-1425208577_thumb.jpg

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Don't look like it to me on the ends should look like a tree with rings.

I see no lines.

But hey could be I am missing them.

Jeff

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I don't see any evidence for fossil ivory of any sort. See this comparison:

post-11936-0-61006700-1425212056_thumb.jpg

Yours doesn't have a hollow core and is homogeneous - the same texture all the way through without any growth rings.

I think this is geological rather than biological. I would agree that soap stone would be a good guess. Can you scratch it with your fingernail?

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Here is a great link that explains how to recognize ivory by Schreger lines. It is really pretty fascinating, and once you recognize the lines, you can ID any small fragment as tusk.

http://makezine.com/2012/03/29/how-to-tell-mammoth-ivory-from-elephant-ivory/

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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I'm afraid it is a carving, and not made of ivory.

The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence".

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