[Bonetools] Ivory teeth in iron Age grav Sweden?

[Sonia O'Connor]

??Dear Sabine,

Ivory identification is my speciality.  I have also examined a number of archaeological ivory rings from Anglo Saxon sites in the UK, all of which were elephant ivory.  The illustration in Nerman's paper shows the way that this ivory usually breaks up in burial. Your fragments look very different but I have seen similar examples. Most of your fragments do not have any diagnostic features and the photomicrographs do not show any further useful information (several of them seem to be the same view).  However, some of the fragments, like the one from image DSC05538 (attached) do show surfaces with fine corrugations that are typical of fractures that form between the layers of dentine in elephant ivory.  This does not mean that all the fragments are elephant ivory.


Hope that helps,


Sonia


Dr Sonia O'Connor PhD FSA FIIC ACR Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of York
Post-doctoral Researcher
Archaeological Sciences
Division of AGES
University of Bradford
Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP

Tel 01274 236498
________________________________
From: Bonetools <bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu> on behalf of Sabine Sten <sabine.sten at arkeologi.uu.se>
Sent: 08 April 2015 14:25
To: Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for the study of object and waste of bone, antler. ivory and horn.
Cc: Maja Nilsson (majanilsson92 at gmail.com); Gustav Malmborg
Subject: [Bonetools] Ivory teeth in iron Age grav Sweden?

Hallo Bonetools,
My osteology student Maja Nilsson works with a grave, dated to younger Iron Age, with cremated bones from Kiplingeberg i Bälinge parish, Uppland in Sweden. Maja has identified some tooth fragments in the grave and we wonder if the tooth fragments can be ivory. Maja has photographed the tooth fragments and my colleague Gustav has photographed some tooth fragments under a microscope. Does anyone have experience of ivory rings from elephant in grave materials or advice on any literature? Have Maja found ivory fragments of elephant in the grave?
Species in the grave: human, dog, sheep/goat, cattle, pig, bear and a hen.
Artefacts: Comb in bone, beads, bronze buckles, needle head in bronze......

I enclose an old article by Nerman 1955 in Fornvännen. There is a Summary in the end of the article. Nerman have found an ivory ring in a grave on the island Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

Microscope photos:
Tvärsnitt - cross section
Böjd sida- curved side
Plan sida- plan side

Greatful for help.
//Sabine

[https://mp.uu.se/documents/432512/893786/UU_logo_tranp4f125px.png/bdc5b258-d39a-4389-80da-f88ee8fdd3d5?t=1377780614885]
Sabine Sten
Professor i osteoarkeologi
Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia
Uppsala universitet - Campus Gotland
621 67 Visby
Tel: 0498 - 10 8320
Web: http://www.arkeologi.uu.se



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