westberg wrote:Trying to understand the difference between mammoth and modern elephant ivory.
As far as biological makeup, next to nothing. The big differences are going to be color, and graining. Those lines that you are referring to >>>>>>>>>>>>> are called Schreger (sp.?) lines. In Mammoth Ivory those lines usually have an angle of less than 90 degrees. On Elephant Ivory, they are most often at or greater than 115 degrees.
As far as the color, since the Mammoth ivory has set in the ground for tens of thousands of years, it has absorbed the minerals and chemicals in the surrounding soil. This can give the ivory a dark brown, blue, green and sometimes red color. Elephant Ivory will always be a white or off white.

ETA: Mammoth Ivory can be sold and traded legally in the US, and Elephant Ivory, in the absense of CITES documentation can not.
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