News tagged with ivory
Dramatic biological responses to global warming in the Arctic
"The Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past," says Eric Post, associate professor of biology at Penn State University. Post leads a large, international team that carried out ecosystem-wide ...
Sep 10, 2009 |
3 / 5 (16) |
7
Roman era York may have been more diverse than today
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new archaeological study in Britain has shown that its multi-cultural nature is not a new phenomenon, but that even in Roman times there was a strong African influence, with North Africans ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 01, 2010 |
3.9 / 5 (12) |
50
|
No ivory-billed woodpecker, but plenty of data
(PhysOrg.com) -- They have searched the old-growth forests of the Carolinas, the swamps of Arkansas, the woods of Alabama and Mississippi, and now the vast river of grass, mangrove, cypress and wildlife that ...
Jul 15, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (5) |
0
What scents did the ancient Egyptians use?
Pharaoh Hatshepsut was a power-conscious woman who assumed the reins of government in Egypt around the year 1479 B.C. In actual fact, she was only supposed to represent her step-son Thutmose III, who was three years old at ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 15, 2009 |
4 / 5 (5) |
0
New study may give hope that ivory-billed woodpeckers still around
Until credible sightings popped up three years ago, the scientific world was in agreement that ivory-billed woodpeckers had gone the way of the dodo. A new study conducted by University of Georgia researchers ...
Biology /
Jan 16, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
Scientists use fossil feathers reveal lineage of extinct, flightless ibis
A remarkable first occurred recently at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History when ornithologists Carla Dove and Storrs Olson used 700- to 1,100-year-old feathers from a long extinct species ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 22, 2011 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
|
Orphaned elephants forced to forge new bonds decades after ivory ban
An African elephant never forgets - especially when it comes to the loss of its kin, according to researchers at the University of Washington. Their findings, published online in the journal, Molecular Ecology, reveal that ...
Biology /
Jan 20, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Asian ivory trade poses danger to African elephant
(AP) -- Carefully, the Chinese ivory dealer pulled out an elephant tusk cloaked in bubble wrap and hidden in a bag of flour. Its price: $17,000.
May 15, 2010 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
2
It's for the birds: Historical bird files give insight into climate change
On Nov. 1, 1933, Mrs. Bruce Reid recorded seeing both a male and female ivory-billed woodpecker in Texas. And on May 28, 1938, Oscar McKinley Bryans observed a ruby-throated hummingbird in Michigan, noting that the birds ...
Mar 18, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
0
Syntax in our primate cousins
(PhysOrg.com) -- A study carried out in Ivory Coast has shown that monkeys of a certain forest-dwelling species called Campbell's monkeys emit six types of alert calls. The primates combine these calls into ...
Dec 11, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
'Extinct' frogs haven't croaked -- scientists
Delighted conservationists announced on Wednesday they had found two species of African frog and a Mexican salamander that had been feared to extinct.
Sep 22, 2010 |
5 / 5 (2) |
2
Dutch capital to be put on trial over ICoast waste dump
The city of Amsterdam is to be prosecuted over the dumping of toxic waste by a ship in Ivory Coast in 2006, the Supreme Court has ruled in a decision made available Wednesday.
Mar 10, 2010 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
New paper on ivory-billed woodpecker published
Dr. Michael Collins, Naval Research Laboratory scientist and bird watcher, has published an article titled "Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)" which appear ...
Apr 28, 2011 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
Conservationists urge treaty panel to reject ivory sale by Tanzania, Zambia
An international convention will meet next week to decide whether to grant requests from Tanzania and Zambia to lower the protection status of their elephants, allowing them to conduct one-time sales of stockpiled ivory.
Mar 11, 2010 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Scientists urge treaty panel to reject ivory sale by Tanzania, Zambia
The fate of many African elephants, according to a group of scientists, hinges on a decision to be made this week in Qatar by a host of countries operating under an international agreement.
Mar 16, 2010 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory is little used today, but has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and billiard balls. Elephant ivory has been the most important source, but ivory from many species including the hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth, sperm whale, and narwhal has been used. The word ultimately derives from the Ancient Egyptian âb, âbu "elephant", through the Latin ebor- or ebur.
The use and trade of elephant ivory has become controversial because it has contributed to seriously declining populations in many countries. In 1975 the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which prevents international trade between member countries. The African elephant was placed on Appendix One in January 1990. Since then some southern African countries have had their populations of elephants "downlisted" to Appendix Two allowing sale of some stockpiles.
Ivory has availed itself to many ornamental and practical uses. Prior to the introduction of plastics, it was used for billiard balls, piano keys, Scottish bagpipes, buttons and a wide range of ornamental items. Synthetic substitutes for ivory have been developed. Plastics have been viewed by piano purists as an inferior ivory substitute on piano keys, although other recently developed materials more closely resemble the feel of real ivory.
The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same regardless of the species of origin. The trade in certain teeth and tusks other than elephant is well established and widespread, therefore "ivory" can correctly be used to describe any mammalian teeth or tusks of commercial interest which is large enough to be carved or scrimshawed (Crocodile teeth are also used).
For more information about Ivory, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
