Mammoth Bone/Tusk

The Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) lived during the last ice age (the Pleistocene Epoch). The Woolly Mammoth stood about 9-11 feet at the shoulder and weighed 6-9 tons. The frozen carcasses of Woolly Mammoths were found in Siberia. The remains of the Mammoths became fossilized or preserved only after they were rapidly buried under mud or ice. The tusks of a Woolly Mammoth are enlarged incisor teeth. They begin to grow at birth and continue growing throughout life. Tusks were used for a variety of activities; such as digging up vegetation, fighting, snow plowing for food, a deterrent to predators, and a sexual attraction during mating. Most of a Mammoth’s tusk is composed of dentin, which is deposited in layers. The outer enamel layer is commonly called bark ivory and is harder than the dentin on the inside of the tusk. The blue color on the surface is caused by vivianite, a phosphorous mineral, most likely derived from the soil from which the tusk was buried in.