MAMMOTH TOOTH SECTION
Mammuthus columbi
Pleistocene
Alaska
This fascinating Ice Age tooth has been sliced to show the unusual inner structure of the mammoth's dentition. The upper surface has been left in a natural state, with an attractive earthy red-brown patination. It has been polished on the cut face, however, to display the soft creamy and blue-gray coloring of the vertical layers of dentine and dental cement (cementum), surrounded by enamel. Relatively worn on top but small in size, it most probably belonged to a young adolescent and measures approximately 5 1/8 x 2 3/4 x 1 1/8 inches.