Southern Mammoth Tooth, Mammuthus meridionalis, Early Pleistocene, Eurasia, on Stand

拍品描述

Early Pleistocene, Eurasia, 2.5 million to 800,000 years ago. A fossil grinding tooth of the southern mammoth, Mammuthus meridionalis, set on a dark wooden stand. It is probably a molar. The crown is built from a series of transverse enamel plates (lamellae), stacked like the leaves of a closed book. On the occlusal surface they wear into a row of looped, folded enamel ridges with pale dentine between them. Along the side the plates show as bold dark bands set into tawny brown cementum, and a glittering mineral crust clings to the furrows. Mammoths chewed by grinding the jaw back and forth, and each ridge acted as a rasp on coarse grasses, browse, and shrubs. Large, heavy, and dense with structure, the tooth is a substantial relic of one of the earliest mammoths to spread across Europe and Asia. Size: 11.5" H x 3.5" W x 4.6" D (29.2 cm H x 8.9 cm W x 11.7 cm D); Size of stand: 3.8" H x 3.9" W x 7.8" D (9.7 cm H x 9.9 cm W x 19.8 cm D). Mammuthus meridionalis is the first species of true mammoth widely recorded in Europe. It appeared there around the start of the Pleistocene and later gave rise to the steppe mammoth and, in time, the woolly mammoth. Its teeth are easy to tell apart from those of its descendants. The plates are fewer and more widely spaced, and the enamel is thicker. This suited a mixed diet in the milder, wooded settings of the Early Pleistocene, before the cold grasslands of the ice ages favored the many thin plates of later mammoths. Elephants and mammoths did not replace their teeth from below. New teeth moved forward along the jaw, so only one or two large grinders worked in each quarter of the jaw at any time. SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700. PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception. Item #205062

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