The tusk of a now-extinct elephant dating back to prehistoric times was displayed on Wednesday by Israeli archaeologists. Discovered near a kibbutz in southern Israel, the scholars believe it is a testament to a social ritual by prehistoric humans.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced that the 2.6-meter-long (8.5-foot-long) fossil belonging to the long-extinct straight-tusked elephant was found during a joint excavation with researchers from Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University. The artifact, weighing approximately 150 kilograms (330 pounds), was discovered by biologist Eitan Mor at an excavation site near Revadim.
IAA prehistorian Avi Levy, who headed the dig, said it was "the largest complete fossil tusk ever found at a prehistoric site in Israel or the Near East.”
"We haven't found remains of people here, we only find their material culture – the trash they discarded after use, whether animal bones or flint tools," the historian added. Previous excavations at the Revadim site showed evidence of the "processing of elephant bones – some were turned into tools used by people, and some have cut marks" having been broken for consumption, Levy said.
Omry Barzilai, an IAA archaeologist, said the find was "very puzzling, very enigmatic” because it was not clear whether ancient people hunted the behemoth on the spot or whether they brought the felled animal's tusk to this spot.
The quantity of the meat such an animal would yield and its fatty nature, which makes it difficult to preserve, would indicate that hunting an elephant would serve a societal function, according to Israel Hershkovitz, a biological anthropologist at Tel Aviv University.
"Groups of hunter-gatherers in certain times would arrive at gathering places, in which they would trade women and information and reaffirm social ties that had weakened over the year and go on a hunt for an elephant, something symbolic," he said.
And while the tusks could have been a key symbol, they would not necessarily move with the nomadic peoples, if only because of their bulk and weight.
"They might have developed some sort of ritual around these tusks and at a certain time, they had to move, the families had to roam to find new living spaces," he said.
Half a million years ago, when the ancient elephant died, the now-arid terrain was likely a swamp or shallow lake, an ideal habitat for ancient hominids.
