猛犸象牙——冰封万年的稀世珍宝

Mammoth ivory:A rare treasure buried underground for thousands of years

本文对猛犸象牙的结构特征和物质组分进行了梳理总结,发现猛犸象牙与现代象牙不仅结构相似,均具有勒兹纹理;同时还发现两者具有相似成分,均由羟基磷酸钙和胶原蛋白组成。通过猛犸象牙与现代象牙的宝石学特征对比,结合我国传统文化牙雕艺术的现状,认为猛犸象牙是牙雕艺术的理想新材料。

This paper has summarized structures and compositions of the mammoth ivory,and the results indicate that the mammoth ivory show similar structures and compositions with modern ivory.Both of them have Retzius structure and primarily consist of collagen and hydroxyl calcium phosphate.Considering their similar gemological features,I propose that Mammoth ivory could replace moden ivory as an ideal new material for ivory carving,the Chinese tranditional art.