What is ivory from elephants used for?
What is ivory from elephants used for? Archaeologists and historians have recovered many practical tools made out of ivory: buttons, hairpins, chopsticks, spear tips, bow tips, needles, combs, buckles, handles, billiard balls, and so on. Why was ivory a popular trade item? Ivory has been desired since antiquity because its relative softness made it easy to carve into intricate decorative items for the very wealthy. For the past one hundred years, the ivory trade in Africa has been closely regulated, yet the trade continues to thrive. Why is elephant ivory so valuable? Ivory was prized for containers due to its...