Rare 500,000-year-old fossilised elephant tusk uncovered in Israel
- The now-extinct species, much larger than African elephants was hunted by humans for food and possibly for symbolic purposes
- The elephant was part of the rich fauna of the area, including wild cattle and horses, deer, wild boars and hippopotamuses
Israeli archaeologists on Wednesday displayed a rare tusk half a million years old, from an enormous now-extinct elephant, which scholars see as testament to a social ritual by prehistoric humans.
The 2.6-metre (8.5-foot) artefact, weighing around 150 kilos (330 pounds), was discovered by biologist Eitan Mor at an excavation site near Revadim, a village in southern Israel.
The excavation was managed by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which said the fossil tusk was the largest to be found in the Near East.
Avi Levy, director of the excavation, said it was “fantastic” to find the “extremely preserved tusk”.
“The elephant is a straight-tusked elephant, which became extinct from our area around 400,000 years ago,” he said.
“Next to the tusk were flint tools prehistoric man used to chop and skin the animals in the region, apparently the elephants too.”