Lot 113
North or Central America, ca. 2 million years ago. This is a large fossilized jaw section with an embedded molar. The molar has fossilized into a lovely black and white smooth form, while the jaw is of a black/grey/red more porous rock (this is standard with fossilizations based on the chemical composition of the teeth and bone). This jaw bone is one half of the large mastodon lower jaw, which jutted out past the upper jaw and ended in bony, horn-like projections; one remaining end here sweeps upward, indicating the back end, while the front is missing as are a few of the teeth. 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 a hugely impressive piece, from an animal whose fossilized remains are so impressive that Thomas Jefferson kept some of them in the White House -- mistakenly believing that they belonged to a long-dead carnivore. Size: 17.5" L x 6" W x 9.25" H (44.4 cm x 15.2 cm x 23.5 cm)
Provenance: Ex-private Juanda Anderson Collection, California, USA
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#113746
- Condition: Some restoration/preservation, as is common with pieces like this.
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