Mammoth ivory was the most suitable osseous raw material for the production of Late Pleistocene big game projectile points

Sebastian J Pfeifer,Frank A Müller,Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke,Wolfram L Hartramph

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-38779-1

Abstract

Late Pleistocene societies throughout the northern hemisphere used mammoth and mastodon ivory not only for art and adornment, but also for tools, in particular projectile points. A comparative analysis of the mechanical properties of tusk dentine from woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and African elephant (Loxodonta africana) reveals similar longitudinal stiffness values that are comparable to those of cervid antler compacta. The longitudinal bending strength and work of fracture of proboscidean ivory are very high owing to its substantial collagen content and specific microstructure. In permafrost, these properties can be fully retained for thousands of years. Owing to the unique combination of stiffness, toughness and size, ivory was obviously the most suitable osseous raw material for massive projectile points used in big game hunting.

Highlights

Organic projectile technology for big game hunting is considered a crucial prerequisite for the human colonization of the northern hemisphere during the Pleistocene[1,2,3,4,5]
Not in accordance with several ivory working experiments, which attest to both mammoth and elephant dentine having a considerable fracture toughness[23,32,33]. To counter this paradox and to explore how permafrost ivory compares to fresh material, new data on the chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of tusk dentine from woolly mammoth (M. primigenius) and from African elephant (L. africana) (Fig. 2) were collected and subsequently compared with published information on antler and bone
Crystalline domain sizes in the c-direction of apatite were calculated from the (002) peak broadening at 26° using equation (1), and are 21.4 ± 0.4 nm for M. primigenius and 23.0 ± 1.4 nm for L. africana

Summary

Introduction

Organic projectile technology for big game hunting is considered a crucial prerequisite for the human colonization of the northern hemisphere during the Pleistocene[1,2,3,4,5]. In 197631, the archaeologist Gerd Albrecht carried out a small series of mechanical tests on the material to investigate its usability for projectile points He found that extant African elephant (Loxodonta africana) dentine, very hard and stiff, was more fragile than antler and mammal long bone. Not in accordance with several ivory working experiments, which attest to both mammoth and elephant dentine having a considerable fracture toughness[23,32,33] To counter this paradox and to explore how permafrost ivory compares to fresh material, new data on the chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of tusk dentine from woolly mammoth (M. primigenius) and from African elephant (L. africana) (Fig. 2) were collected and subsequently compared with published information on antler and bone

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion