774,000-year-old mammoth tooth plates seized en route from Ukraine to Bulgaria

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the State Customs Service of Ukraine.

The plates, decorated with an unusual pattern, were declared by the sender as 13 blanks for needlework.

According to experts from the National Museum of Natural History, the plates are 13 samples made from 11 different mammoth teeth. The teeth are fixed with epoxy and cut horizontally. The mammoths to which these teeth belonged were between 15 and 60 years old. This is the time when molars appear, are worn down, and replaced, experts explained.

The geological age of the finds ranges from the Middle Pleistocene to the end of the Pleistocene epoch (before the Paleolithic), i.e. 774 - 11,700 years ago.

As a result of the processing of the teeth, their original shape was destroyed, so some of the valuable information of the paleontological samples was lost, the experts noted. They emphasized that such actions cause irreparable damage to science, as valuable information about the species diversity of proboscis in the Pleistocene is lost.

Despite this, the objects are rare and have cultural, scientific, museum, and educational value. Experts recommend that they be included in the Museum Fund of Ukraine and/or the State Register of National Cultural Heritage.

A report on violation of customs regulations was drawn up against the sender. The teeth were seized.

As reported by Ukrinform, in February, Kyiv customs officers found mammoth teeth that lived 305-130,000 years ago in a mail shipment from Poltava region to the United States.

Photo: customs.gov.ua