Description:

North America, Pliocene to Pleistocene, Ice Age, ca. 100,000 to 20,000 years old. A beautiful molar from an older adult mastodon (Mammut americanum). It has three extended roots and six large ridges now fossilized a deep, glossy black. High-crowned teeth like the mastodon's - named by French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1817, and meaning "nipple teeth" because of its shape - were suited to mashing leaves and twigs rather than grasses; mastodons lived in forested environments, unlike mammoths, who lived in open grasslands. This is an impressive piece, from an animal whose fossilized remains are so awe-inspiring that Thomas Jefferson kept some of them in the White House - mistakenly believing that they belonged to a long-dead carnivore. Size: 4.75" W x 3.75" H (12.1 cm x 9.5 cm)

Provenance: private southwestern Pennsylvania, USA collection

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#148036

  • Condition: Small losses to the roots, otherwise in excellent condition.

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September 5, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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