Excellent German Mammoth Molar and Jaw Section

Description: This beautiful and striking Mammuthus primigenius molar with jaw section comes directly from the Rhineland region of west central Germany. The preservation is remarkable and natural mineral replacement processes in fossilization resulted in a color spectrum of light brown hues. At 6 lbs 3 oz (2.286 kg), it’s as heavy, solid and dense as the rock it became since tens of thousands of years ago when humans were still roving bands of hunter gatherers. This molar has not been subjected to any chemical preservation processes. Therefore it is totally natural with no unpleasant chemical smells or artificial surface sheen. The woolly mammoths met extinction at the end of the Pleistocene (12,000 years ago), probably as a result of climate change together with the effects of human hunting. This is a premium grade mammoth molar.

The molars of the woolly mammoth, like those of other mammoths and elephants were large, specialized structures with a flattened grinding surface. Low ridges of dense enamel run across the surface of the teeth, making them ideal for grinding grasses. As with mastodons, a mammoth will have a series of six cheek teeth (premolars and molars) on each side of the jaw (a total of 24 teeth for both upper and lower jaws.) Younger mammoths had three teeth on each side, while most adults had two, and the old animals had one. As the teeth were worn down, they were replaced by teeth growing in from the back. Newer teeth were larger and contained more ridges than older teeth.

I also need to dispel self-serving disinformation I’ve seen on the Internet regarding Mammoth teeth from German Polish and Siberian sedimentary deposits, compared with those brought up from the sea. The former are clearly more aesthetic, and the natural preservation and structural integrity has not been compromised by the adverse chemical effects and dissolution during sea water submersion as in the later. The former smells like the rock that it is and the later smells like the hydrocarbons required to restore structure integrity with many shellac-like coating. At the 2008 Tucson Fossil show, the former were scarce and relatively expensive, and later were prevalent and pretty inexpensive. Pitching fossils as investments reminds me of the coin and pawn shop near where I grew up. If I thought fossils were good investment vehicles, I would recommend Mammoth teeth from Northern Europe and Siberia, so don’t be duped by the disinformation. The Mammoth teeth from the North Sea are just fine, especially since they should be a bargain compared to those from Siberia, if you don’t mind the smell.