North America, Alaska, Pleistocene period, ca. 40,000 years ago. The fossilized scapula from a juvenile woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). The mammoth is the iconic animal of the Ice Age, a huge, elephant-like beast who was hunted by early humans. In fact, humans used these massive flat bones of mammoth scapulas to form cleavers, demonstrating that the animals were not just meat sources but also useful to create the tools necessary for butchery. Incredibly, this giant example is not even from a fully grown animal! Size: 21" L x 11" W x 4" H (53.3 cm x 27.9 cm x 10.2 cm); 20.85" H (53 cm) on included custom stand.
Imagine walking in a modern Arctic or sub-Arctic landscape like Alaska, northern Canada, or Siberia and finding a bone like this rising from the ground - the name mammoth comes from a Siberian word used to describe the tusks found there by native people, like the Khanty of the Irtysh River basin, and traded to Europe and China. Their occasional finds of massive tusks and even preserved mammoth bodies in the permafrost - often eroding out of the sides of river banks - led to their folkloric belief that mammoths were like huge rodents, dwelling underground, dying when they accidentally surfaced. With the invention of science as a discipline, massive fossilized bones like this one continued to capture imaginations all over the world - for example, Thomas Jefferson, who was fascinated by paleontology, is credited with introducing the use of the word mammoth as an adjective to describe something very large.
Provenance: private Hagar collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#127515
Condition
Coracoid and surrounding area is lost. Small loss to end of spine. Otherwise nicely preserved with clear structures.