Ivory

‘When elephants battle, the grass suffers.’ Power, ivory and the Syrian elephant

“…Barnett 1957: 164-65;Pfälzner 2013;Tchernov 1981: 74;Uerpmann 1987: 100) considered them to be direct descendants of the relict Pleistocene species, others (e.g. Collon 1977;Winter 1973: 267-68) suggested that the Syrian elephant represented an import from further east. The main argument of archaeologists for the latter has been the absence of any archaeological elephant remains in Southwest Asia prior to the end of the 3rd millennium BC, apart from finished ivory objects (Caubet and Poplin 2010;Miller 1986;Potts 1997: 261).…”

“…Careful planning to maintain breeding populations would have required repetitive introductions in order to prevent inbreeding among introduced herds. As Collon (1977) suggested, political stability in the region would have been a prerequisite for the frequent imports of Asian elephants from long distances.…”

“…Evidence for the Syrian elephant ceased to exist during the 1st millennium BC as textual, pictorial and physical evidence for these animals stops during the second quarter of the 1st millennium BC (Barnett 1982: 74, n. 35;Collon 1977;Miller 1986;Moorey 1994: 119). A few scholars (e.g.…”

“…The lack of large ears in pictorial representations, as in the Theban tomb of Rekhmire in Egypt, (TT 100) c. 1430 BC, or the Black Obelisk from Nimrud in Iraq, c. 830 BC -not only the imagery but also the context -rules out the possibility of identifying them as Loxondonta sp. of Africa (Collon 1977;Davies 1943). In the tomb of Rekhmire, the elephant is clearly part of the tribute being brought by Syrians, as is attested by the costume of the tribute-bearers and the relevant texts (Burchardt 1913: 106, pl.…”

“…Exquisite objects, ranging from personal ornaments to decoration, made of elephant and hippopotamus ivory are one of the hallmarks of the Bronze Age (BA) and Iron Age (IA) in Southwest Asia (Barnett 1982;Caubet and Poplin 1987;Collon 1977;Liebowitz 1997;Wicke 2013;Winter 1976;Woolley 1955: 289, plate LXXV). The craftsmanship necessary for the production of these artefacts achieves the level of fine art, demonstrating the enormous amount of time invested in feeding the elite demand for luxury, as well as honing the necessary skills for the work.…”