A group of archaeologists have discovered a colossal tusk in Israel that would have belonged to Palaeoloxodon antiquus , a Pleistocene elephant that could reach more than 4 meters in height. The discovery has been made in an elephant graveyard from half a million years ago near the Revadim kibbutz.
Avi Levy, a prehistorian with the Israel Antiquities Authority and director of the excavation, told IFLScience : “From our previous archaeological excavations at Revadim, we knew that the site was settled in the late Lower Palaeolithic. But finding this entire half-million-year-old elephant tusk in such good condition is something else.”
Levy says that we are looking at “the largest complete fossil tusk ever found in a prehistoric site in Israel or the Middle East.” However, the tooth is extremely fragile and that is making it difficult to excavate, even for experienced archaeologists. The simple contact with air, sunlight or human touch could be more than enough for it to disintegrate.
“The tusk underwent an initial conservation treatment when it was first discovered,” explains Israel Hershkovitz, a professor at Tel Aviv University’s Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory and one of the researchers involved in the excavation. “We are now excavating it in its archaeological context, before moving it to the Israel Antiquities Authority Conservation Laboratory, where it will be studied and preserved.”
The tusk has been found separated from the skull and the rest of the animal’s body . This could open up a series of questions, such as whether elephant tusks could have had a spiritual meaning in prehistory, whether it was part of the remains of a captured animal or whether it was collected by the locals.
It is well known that elephants and other large mammals, such as hippos, deer, wild boar, wild horses, etc., were hunted at the time. The rare thing is to find their challenges in archaeological sites. In previous excavations in the same area, pieces of skulls, ribs and teeth of elephants were found. Also ancient tools made of flint that were used to process the meat of animals.
Straight-tusked elephants were especially large specimens that could reach 4.5 meters in height and weigh 14 tons, so hunting them was quite a feat. Would it be something exceptional for our ancestors, reserved for special occasions or something normal?
Archaeologists believe that due to the concentration of stone tools at the site, a considerable number of people settled there and that they hunted elephants . “In the hot and dry climate of our region, elephant meat could not be kept fresh for long, so it had to be eaten quickly by many people, probably as part of a communal event,” they stated.
We will have to wait for the research to progress to find out if our ancestors ate elephant meat occasionally or if it was part of their daily menu.
Once the conservation process is complete, the tusk will go on display to the public at the new Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Israel National Archeology Campus in Jerusalem.
