⌘ Ancient Ivory Trade

 

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• The discovery of a 16th-century shipwreck has, with the aid of advanced scientific techniques, provided detailed insight into elephant herds living in Africa almost 500 years ago. But the study also highlights the extensive depletion of the West African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) due to the ivory trade, and the need for conservation of this majestic animal. The study, published today, was led by Oxford University’s Pitt Rivers Museum and School of Archaeology alongside partner institutions in Namibia (the National Museum of Namibia), South Africa (University of Cape Town, University of Pretoria) and the USA (University of Illinois).

• This unique story that links shipwrecks with elephants came to life off the coast of Namibia in 2008, when workers mining for diamonds discovered the remains of the Portuguese trading vessel Bom Jesus. The ship was lost in 1533 AD en route to India, making it the oldest shipwreck discovered in southern Africa.Incredibly some of the ship’s structure and over forty tons of valuable cargo were recovered intact – including thousands of copper pieces (ingots), gold and silver coins.

• The discovery of a 16th-century shipwreck

• But the most fascinating items recovered from the Bom Jesus were a collection of over 100 elephant tusks, the largest archaeological cargo of African elephant ivory ever found. The tusks were of varying lengths and sizes, ranging in weight from 2-33 kg, and came from both male and female elephants, young and old alike. The tusks were in good condition thanks to the cold waters off the coast of Namibia caused by the Benguela ocean current.

• Elephant tusks are the source of ivory, which was a valuable commodity in the 1500s and would have been used to make jewellery, mirrors and combs, decorative items and religious objects. Tusks were often traded from Africa to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, but to find such a large number of tusks, and so incredibly well preserved, made this a unique find.

• “The shipwreck cargo contained materials from different parts of the world – Central European copper, German finance, Portuguese ship and perhaps crew, African ivory all destined for western India. This is an amazing snapshot of how connected the world was by the 1530s,” said Professor Shadreck Chirikure, School of Archaeology at Oxford University who led the study at Oxford University alongside Dr Ashley Coutu, Research Fellow at Pitt Rivers Museum.

• A team of experts – scientists, archaeologists and curators – came together to study the tusks and learn more about the elephants who bore them, before they were killed for their ivory. This is the first study to combine genetic, archeological and historical methods, providing much greater detail than ever before about the origin, ecological, and genetic histories of an archaeological ivory cargo.

• Scientists extracted ancient DNA – the chemical in the cell of every living thing that contains its genetic code – from the ivory to trace the source region and family history of the elephants. Ancient DNA analysis of 44 tusks determined that the elephants were Loxodonta cyclotis, or African forest elephants, rather than Loxodonta africana, savannah or grassland elephants. Further DNA sequencing traced the elephants to West Africa, which was surprising as it was expected the elephants would be from different locations across both Central and West Africa where trading networks to move ivory over long distances had been established thousands of years before the sailing of the Bom Jesus.

• Another surprise was that the elephants did not live in deep forests as most forest elephants do today. Dr Coutu studied the chemical elements in the tusks (stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen – isotopes are also used to determine the age of fossils through radiocarbon dating) to reveal that these elephants actually lived in scrubby woodland savannahs, not the deep tropical forests along the West African coast where almost all forest elephants live. “This information gave us a picture of the ecology of the West African forest elephant in its historic landscape. Knowing more about historic environments in which forest elephants thrived will benefit wildlife conservation today,” said Dr Ashley Coutu.

• African forest elephants

• But the research also reveals a loss of West African forest elephant herds in the last 400 years. The team found that the cargo came from 17 different herds with a distinct family lineage. Of those 17, only 4 of those same lineages still exist and are known from modern West African elephant populations. This means that the other lineages have been lost, primarily due to the hunting of elephants for ivory that took place in the centuries that followed.

• “The other lineages disappeared because West Africa has lost more than 95% of its elephants in subsequent centuries due to hunting and habitat destruction,” said Alfred Roca Professor of Animal Sciences from the University of Illinois who worked together with Oxford University on the project. The genetic information recovered from these lost herds adds a huge amount to the relatively limited amount of data available for scientists to study the remaining forest elephants across the African continent.

• The ivory trade, which continued up until the 20th century, devastated Africa’s elephant population. Estimates suggest the population reduced from 26 million elephants in 1800 to fewer than one million today. A worldwide ban on ivory sales was instituted in 1989, which reversed the downward trend in the population. Despite the ban, the ivory trade continues illegally, and an estimated 20,000 elephants are killed in Africa annually.

• This research study was led by Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University, one of the leading and best-known museums of anthropology, ethnography and archaeology in the world. It holds over 500,000 items acquired across 130 years, covering all periods of human existence.

• Pitt Rivers leads research on its collections and is actively exploring difficult histories and addressing the colonial past. Oxford School of Archaeology hosts world-class research facilities fundamental to addressing big questions relating to humans and their interaction with the environment in the past. This collaborative research across continents has provided an opportunity to look at the legacy of the ivory trade. But it has also introduced a new way to examine the vast collections of historic and archaeological ivories in museums across the world and showed the vital significance of science in this work.

• “There is tremendous potential to analyse historic ivory from other shipwrecks, as well as museum collections. These scientific techniques are vital for understanding the histories of elephant populations, people who hunted and traded the ivory, as well as the global history of the ancient ivory trade, which increasingly drew Europe, Africa, and Asia together via the Atlantic Ocean,” said Dr. Ashley Coutu, Research Fellow, Pitt Rivers Museum.

• Ancient trade in Ivory and Elephant-tusks

• There are several references in the Vedas which indicate towards a commercial contact between India and the neighbouring countries in 10th century BCE. And Arabs probably acted as intermediaries. In this century Indian merchants through this Arabian intermediaries sent sandal wood, precious stones, ivory, monkeys and peacocks to King Solomon. Ivory was called Shenhabbin in Hebrew which was derived from Sanskrit word Chaddanta.[1] In the early historic phase Jātaka narratives refer to great demand for Indian ivory in Sri Lanka. Mahābhārata (2-47, 12-14) has references to export of ivory handles to Central Asia from Assam.[2] In this context it is worth mentioning that Assam also was famous for elephants besides rhinoceros. A silver dish from Lampsacos, according to Rostovetzeff, belonging to third century CE, shows a female figure seated on the chair whose feet are made of ivory.

• The Mahāvastu gives some relevant information regarding how many kinds of guilds existed in Buddhist literature. It mentions about master chank-cutter (śaṅkha-valayakāramahattara) who could work in chank-shell and ivory in a very expert way. He made from these materials pegs, collyrium sticks, caskets, ewers, bracelets, bangles and other ornaments.[5] It also mentions the guilds of Kapilāvastu where ivory carvers or dantakāras are referred in the ordinary guilds.[6] It must be indicate towards luxury articles made by ivory. The āvaśyakacūrṇi refers that India was also known for its trade in ivory which was exported to foreign countries. For getting the ivory, merchants advanced money to the Pulindas in the same way they advanced money to divers for getting chank-shells.[7] The Taṅgaṇas of the northern region who could be identified with the Taṅgaṇas of Tarai came to the Deccan for selling ivory and gold. As they did not know any Indian language they transacted business only by the sign language. They heaped their goods and covered them with their hands and did not take them off till they got their desired price.[8]

• In the Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra a person who brings a pair of tusks of an elephant who has died naturally should be given a reward of four paṇas and a quarter (Book 2, Chapter 2, v. 9).[9] This was definitely an added incentive to the original price of the pair of tusks. But it is absurd to notice the absence of the mention of ivory in the Chapter 11 under Book 2, where Kauṭilya mentions the precious articles to be received into the treasury and the skill of examination of them.[10] This reflects that though ivory was precious but its receipt in to the treasury was not done. It probably was received by some other officer and stored separately as ivory might have belonged to the king. In this context a very late inscription can be cited. The Sonpur plates of Kumāra Someśvaradeva states that the donees of this charter, were given all sorts of liberalities including the freedom of enjoying the tusks of elephants, which were the monopoly of the king.[11] Thus the monopoly of the ivory was retained by the king and hence we do not get its reference among precious goods to be entered into the treasury in Arthaśāstra as discussed above. Elephant tusk was used for the hilt of swords (Book 2 Chapter 18, v. 12)[12]. Kauṭilya states about one armour of fabrics and combinations of skin, hooves and horns of dolphin, rhinoceros, dhenuka, elephant and bull, and one kind of shield namely Hastikarṇa (Book 2, Chapter 18, verses 12, 16, 17).[13] Arthaśāstra mentions that the custom duty levied on ivory varied from one tenth part to one fifteenth part (Book 2, Chapter 22, verse 6).[14] Though Arthaśāstra does not elaborate on 1/10th or 1/15th of what? However in case of this absence of mention one might assume that it was 1/10th or 1/15th of the price of the ivory.

• The inscription at the Susa palace, which was built by Darius I (c. BCE 522-486) of Iran mentions various objects brought by Darius’s subjects from different parts of the world for decorating the palace. For this purpose ivory was brought from Ethiopia, Sind and Arachosia[15]. Sind probably was not a place well known for its elephants hence in all probabilities it was only the place which was exporting this product which was procured from other places in the subcontinent which produced elephants or the ivory came through trade network to Sindh which sold it to the Achaemenid Empire. This is a direct evidence of India exporting ivory as early as the 6th Century BCE.

• Moti Chandra shows a reference of elephant carpet mentioned in the Mahābhārata. These are mentioned as being manufactured at Magadha.[17] This probably is a reference to a carpet made out of ivory flakes which was a unique craft practiced by experts in eastern India. A similar carpet belonging to the medieval period is still preserved in the Bangladesh National Museum. However if this hypothesis is accepted then the antiquity of the tradition of making such ivory carpets is pushed back from medieval to early historic phase. However we require more corroborative evidence to substantiate this. In the early historic times not only Magadha but Tosāli in Kaliṅga (Puri district, Southern Odisha) was also famous for its ivory works.

• For entering India from Balkh, Hindukush had to be crossed. After that passing Kabul, Peshawar, Taxila and Mathura the route proceeded to Pāṭaliputra (Kumrahar District, Bihar). But those merchants who transacted business with Indian merchants only, they, taking the grand routes turned to the south of Merv, thereafter by merchants reached Herat and from there proceeded to Kandahar. From Kandahar there were three routes to India, viz. 1) southeastern route which crossing the mountains entered India through the Bolan or Mula pass, 2) north-eastern route which passing through Kabul joined the silk route and 3) the Lasbela route which either following the river or the sea routes reached the Bay of Sonmiani and from there proceeded by the land or sea route to India. From these land routes at least in the time of Augustus several Indian embassies reached Rome. One of these embassies from the Pāṇḍya country in far south is mentioned to carry with it precious stones, pearls and an elephant.[19]

• Moti Chandra refers to the export of Indian animals for amusement to the Roman world which also included elephants besides tiger, rhinoceros etc. The Romans also liked Indian ivory along with other materials for making ornaments and inlaying furniture.[20] There was a great demand for Indian ivory in the west. This is corroborated by the Vienna papyrus. Federico Romanis in his article, “Playing Sudoku on the Verso of the “Muziris Papyrus”: Pepper, Malabathron and Tortoise Shell in the Cargo of the Hermapollon”[21] discusses in detail the commodities which were shipped for trade. Here besides ivory he also mentions schidai which has been explained by him as small pieces of ivory. We are aware that 1/3rd portion of the tusk of elephant was cut regularly every year and this was also in high demand is proved from this source. The Papyrus Vindobonesis G 40,822 or “Muziris Papyrus” of first century CE mentions specially about three items exported from Muziris were Gangetic nard, good quality ivory and schidai those had some monetary values of a set of items. Unfortunately due to the fragmentary condition of the papyrus, only the data of three cargo items are easily legible. One of these three items was “sound” ivory and other one is schidai.[22] The quantities and values of these three items are as follows[23] :

• We cannot find any clear evidence in the loan contract whether carved ivory products were exported or only raw tusks were shipped. According to Ranabir Chakravarti[24] there is a possibility that may be both were shipped on the board of Harmapollon as Casson and Romanis mention to “ivory” and “tusk” as export items[25]. Ivory carving being exported seems to be a difficult as this was not done in the Malabar Coast. No doubt there was a huge demand for Indian ivory. The best quality Indian ivory came from Dosarene in eastern Deccan (probably Veṅgi), that ivory was labelled as Dosarenic[26]. Veṅgi region was well connected with the Coromandel coast.

• An inscription found in the temple of Pan at Benenice near Rhodesia there was an Indian traveller named Subāhu who sailed between India and Alexandria. But as far as travel to Rome proper is concerned except for envoys, slaves, māhuts and acrobats no other Indians travelled.[27] The presence of māhuts or elephant trainers reflects that large numbers of elephants were exported and to train them these elephant trainers were in great demand.

• As far as the Indian markets are concerned we get reference to the markets of Ujjain filled with horses, elephants, chariots, soldiers and all kinds of goods during the time of the Guptas in the Padmaprābhṛtakaṃ. The Pādatāḍitakam describes Ujjain as an urban centre, and its markets were filled with heaps of foreign goods.[28] The Kuvalayamālā of Udyotana Sūri written in 779 CE gives us many travel stories. It refers to a merchant to visited Kosala country sold horses to the king of Kosala who provided elephants in exchange by selling which he gained huge profits. It is noteworthy that these elephants have been mentioned as gaja potas i.e. the elephants who are aged 12 to 20 according to the Mātaṅgalīlā. There is a reference to another merchant from Taxila named Lobhadeva who went to Sopara for trading, he received an invitation from merchants to this deśiya-vāṇika melīya or trade fair. In this fair the merchants exchanged their personal experiences. In this course of exchanging their knowledge of goods in trade and exchange the above mentioned reference to selling of horses and getting elephants in return is mentioned. However there are references to procurement of ivory from Africa as well. African elephants were also quite famous. A merchant sold cloth to the Berber sea coast (East Africa) and from there he bought pearls and ivory.[29] Here often we find reference to exchange of goods for goods and rarely do we find reference to monetary transactions. Even in the early medieval Tamil inscriptions there are references to elephants being sold to distant places. A Tamil; inscription found from Loboye Toyba in Sumatra throws light on the sea trade. From a stone inscription of Mysore we come to know that foreign merchants” trade carried on trade with Cera, Coḷa, Pāṇḍya, Malaya, Magadha, Saurāṣṭra, Nepal and other countries. The merchandise consisted of horses, elephants, precious stones, spices, aromatic herbs and medicines. Some of these merchants were so powerful that they could bestow special powers to the villages of their own choice.[30]

• The above text also provides interesting information on the training of craftsmen or vocational training to students on ivory working in the Vijayapur region. In the travel account of Kuvalayacanda who was traveling to Vijayapura, the description of a college (Maṭha) is a new trend in the Indian literature. He came across a college in Vijayapura. Hoping to get some information about Kuvalayamālā from its students he entered the college there he met students from Lāṭa, Karṇāṭaka Mālava, Kānyakubja, Godāvarī, Mahārāṣṭra, Saurāṣṭra, Dacca, Śrīkaṇṭha and Sindh they were busy in practising archery, wielding weapons and doing gymnastics. Among the various types of education imparted the author also describes subjects like Nimitta-Śāstra, Mantra, Yoga, interpretation of dreams, chemistry, etymology, prosody, cutting patterns, magic etc. along with ivory carving (Dantakarma) were taught.[31] Thus ivory carving was among an art and a craft taught in the college in 8th century CE.

• The Hudūd-e-ālam (982-983 CE) of Sayyad Suleman Nadvi informs us that in the tenth century CE Arabians imported chank-shell and ivory from Orissa.[32] Regarding the ivory trade, Kalpanāratna [Kalpanāratnam] a text composed by the Gaṅga king Śivamāra[33] who ruled over parts of Karnataka in the 8th and 9th centuries CE, sheds new light on the preservation of elephants and their ivory. The word “Kalpanā” here indicated the art of cutting the tusks of elephants so that the ivory could be used for making useful and beautiful articles, without harming the pachyderms. In the light of this, it was necessary to know the proper time to cut the tusks of elephants and also the proper method of preserving the ivory. This is also corroborated by several epigraphs which bear reference to ivory carvers, their guilds, donation of ivory tax to donees and the royal monopoly on ivory.

• The Dark History of Ivory Jewelry and Its Trade

• Ivory jewelry has been revered for centuries for its unparalleled beauty, intricate craftsmanship, and timeless elegance. From ancient civilizations to modern fashion runways, ivory pieces have adorned the wealthy and the powerful, symbolizing status and luxury. However, beneath the lustrous surface of these beautiful artifacts lies a troubling history of exploitation and environmental devastation. This blog delves into the dual nature of ivory jewelry, exploring both its historical significance and the pressing ethical concerns surrounding its use.

• Historical Significance

• Historically, ivory, an organic gem material, was exclusively sourced from elephant tusks. However, with elephants now protected and the sale of elephant ivory banned, contemporary ivory used in jewelry primarily comes from fossilized sources and the teeth of other animals like hippopotamuses, narwhals, sea lions, and wild boars.

• Ivory is recognizable by its distinctive grain pattern, known as the “engine-turned effect,” which differentiates it from bone. Over time, ivory transitions from its original white color to a yellowish hue, eventually developing a brownish patina as it ages. Its value lies in its exceptional carveability, which has given rise to numerous fine ivory carving traditions worldwide. Notable examples include netsukes from Japan, Victorian carvings, the Erbach school in Germany, and centuries-old carvings of mammoth and walrus ivory in Russia.

• Ivory has been prized since antiquity for its smooth texture and ease of carving. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans crafted ivory into a variety of items, including jewelry, figurines, and religious artifacts. During the medieval period, ivory was a favorite material for the creation of religious icons and ceremonial objects.

• In many cultures, ivory was also believed to possess mystical properties. It was often used in the creation of amulets and talismans believed to bring good fortune, protection, and healing. The beauty and mystique of ivory ensured its place as a highly coveted material across different eras and societies.

• Ivory Trade

• Ivory has been traded for thousands of years, valued for its beauty, durability, and workability. Ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans highly prized ivory, using it to create a variety of items, from jewelry and religious artifacts to decorative objects. The demand for ivory surged during the Age of Exploration, as European powers sought exotic goods from Africa and Asia.

• By the 19th and early 20th centuries, the ivory trade had become a significant economic activity, particularly in Africa. Colonial powers and traders hunted elephants extensively to satisfy the growing demand for ivory in Europe and America, where it was used in everything from piano keys to billiard balls and fine art.The demand for ivory has had a catastrophic impact on elephant populations. In the early 20th century, the global elephant population was estimated to be in the millions. However, rampant poaching driven by the lucrative ivory market led to a dramatic decline. By the 1970s and 1980s, elephant numbers had plummeted, pushing many populations to the brink of extinction.

• Elephants are keystone species, meaning their presence is crucial for maintaining the structure of the ecosystems in which they live. The decimation of elephant herds not only disrupts these ecosystems but also threatens the biodiversity of entire regions.

• In response to the alarming decline in elephant populations, international efforts have been made to regulate and ban the ivory trade. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) played a pivotal role in these efforts. In 1989, CITES enacted a global ban on the international trade of ivory, with some exceptions for pre-existing ivory and certain controlled circumstances.

• Many countries have implemented their own domestic bans and stricter regulations to combat illegal ivory trading. For example, the United States and China, two of the largest markets for ivory, have introduced comprehensive bans on the sale and purchase of ivory within their borders.

• Despite these efforts, illegal ivory trade persists, often linked to organized crime and corruption. The high value of ivory continues to drive poaching, posing significant challenges to enforcement and conservation efforts.

• Craftsmanship and Design

• The appeal of ivory jewelry lies not only in the material itself but also in the remarkable skill required to shape it. Craftsmen have developed techniques over centuries to carve intricate patterns, delicate figures, and detailed motifs into ivory. This craftsmanship turns a piece of ivory into a work of art, showcasing the artisan’s talent and the material’s unique qualities.

• Traditional designs often draw inspiration from nature, mythology, and cultural symbols. Modern ivory jewelry, while rarer due to legal restrictions, continues to inspire with contemporary designs that pay homage to its rich heritage.

• Ethical Concerns and Conservation Efforts

• The dark side of ivory jewelry's allure is its impact on elephant populations. Ivory is primarily sourced from elephant tusks, and the demand for ivory has led to the widespread poaching of elephants, pushing these majestic creatures toward the brink of extinction. The illegal ivory trade is a lucrative business that fuels organized crime and violence, further exacerbating the problem.

• Recognizing the urgent need to protect elephants, international regulations have been put in place. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has implemented strict controls and bans on the international trade of ivory. Many countries have also enacted domestic laws to curb ivory sales and promote alternative materials.

• Alternatives to Ivory

• Given the ethical implications, many jewelers and consumers are turning to alternatives that mimic the appearance of ivory without the associated guilt. These include materials like:

• Fossilized Ivory: Sourced from mammoth tusks found in permafrost, this provides a similar aesthetic without harming living elephants.

• Bone: Carved bone can replicate ivory's look and feel and is often sourced from animals that have died of natural causes.

• Synthetic Ivory: Man-made materials designed to mimic the properties of ivory offer an ethical and sustainable option for jewelry enthusiasts.

• Ivory jewelry, with its deep historical roots and exquisite craftsmanship, undeniably holds a special place in the world of adornment. However, the ethical concerns surrounding its acquisition and the impact on wildlife have cast a long shadow over its beauty. As we move forward, it is crucial to balance our appreciation for this art form with a commitment to conservation and sustainability.

• By embracing alternatives and supporting ethical practices, we can ensure that the legacy of ivory jewelry is one of respect for both the artistry it represents and the natural world it once came from. Let us celebrate the beauty of craftsmanship while also cherishing and protecting the magnificent creatures that have long been the source of this elegant material.

• Historic and contemporary issues around the ivory trade.

• Elephant ivory has fundamentally shaped societies, cultures and economies throughout human history. As a material product, it represents the commodification of one of the most iconic and loved animals on Earth. This makes ivory an extremely complicated subject, at times intensely controversial and often highly emotive and publicised.

• Many National Trust for Scotland properties contain objects that have been either made from or decorated with, ivory. In this article, I have taken examples from Brodie Castle to illustrate ivory demand in its many forms as well as the changes in demand for ivory.

• When highlighting ivory items, we can provide visitors with a route to thinking about the different values put on ivory in the past, and how we can think about future elephant conservation practices that target ivory consumers.

• What is ivory?

• Ivory is the teeth or tusks from mammals such as elephants, mammoths, hippopotamuses, warthogs, narwhals and sperm whales. Since antiquity to the modern day, ivory tusks and processed ivory objects have held a unique place in the material culture of human development. As an example, the American Yankee whalers of the 1800s transformed the ancient art form of scrimshaw (sketching designs onto whale teeth or bone) into a major artistic and tooling industry.

• Centuries ago, when Asian elephants were populous across their range, ivory was commonly harvested from male Asian elephants. However, only male Asian elephants have tusks, which are smaller than African elephant tusks. In addition, both male and female African elephants have tusks, and so it became more profitable to source ivory from Africa. In some southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Lao PDR and Thailand, elephants’ economic value was primarily derived from their centuries-long use in the agricultural industry.

• Threats to elephants

• Today, we know that the illegal killing of African elephants for their ivory led to significant population declines, particularly around 10 years ago. This is a major environmental concern as elephants are a keystone species and form an essential part of African biodiversity heritage. Elephants enable other species to coexist and survive by providing services that maintain a well-balanced ecosystem – they carve pathways by pushing down trees and trampling dense grasslands, they create waterholes in dry riverbeds, they disperse seeds in their dung, plus much more. Protecting vulnerable African elephant populations, in regions such as West and Central Africa, is an important route to improving ecosystem health and realising biodiversity goals.

• There are two extant species of elephant found in Africa: African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) and African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). Their habitat varies widely across African countries but they are largely found in protected areas today, ranging from the deserts of Namibia to the tropical dense rainforests of the Republic of the Congo. Interestingly, the tusks of the two species have different characteristics – in size, density and colouring – which can change their market value.

• Based on seizure records, the majority of ivory trafficking out of Africa is destined for East Asia, facilitated by organised criminal syndicates. Improving law enforcement capacities, global judicial co-operation and political will are some of the most important routes to reducing ivory poaching. However, these approaches need to be supported by efforts that will lead to long-term changes in the behaviour, attitude and beliefs of ivory consumers to manage demand levels so they do not threaten elephant populations.

• It is important to recognise that not all African elephants are vulnerable to ivory poaching. Elephant populations are heavily threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, climate-change-induced extreme weather events (such as more intense and more frequent droughts and flooding) and increasing human/elephant conflict. The impacts of reduced space and resource availability disproportionately affect the people living closest to elephant populations. Elephant conservation efforts have long dismissed the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities in Africa, who have co-existed with elephants for millennia. Without conservation strategies that meaningfully engage African people, elephant conservation efforts are likely to perpetuate violent colonial conservation practices.

• King chess piece made of ivory located at Brodie Castle. Photo by Molly Brown.

• Slave trade connections

• There are hundreds of records that indicate the ivory trade flourished in antiquity, when enslaved people were used to facilitate ivory acquisition and processing. The ancient Hebrews traded ivory with Assyria, a great Mesopotamian kingdom of the ancient Middle East (2600–1364BC), and from Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) ivory-laden cargoes drifted down the Nile. One of the ancient seven wonders of the world, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, used ivory to resemble Zeus’s flesh, highlighting the deep-seated value of ivory.

• Fast-forwarding to the 16th century, colonisers from Spain and Portugal began to transform Africa through the enslavement of African people. Britain and France soon followed and dominated the transatlantic slave trade by the mid-16th century. Ivory extracted from West Africa was rapidly commercialised by the Portuguese and French after centuries of Arab trade in ivory across the Indian Ocean. European slavers harvested ivory primarily from the western coastal regions and worked their way into the ‘interior’ of Africa. They exported ivory through coastal ports to reach destinations across Britain, its Empire and throughout Europe.

• The entangling of the transatlantic slave trade and ivory deepened when European slavers started to use enslaved Africans as porters. The journeys to harvest and deliver ivory were so treacherous that many enslaved porters died along the way; the porters who survived the journey were then sold. Records indicate that women were sometimes forced to leave their children behind to ensure the successful delivery of ivory. Some records claim that for every five tusks exported, an enslaved African lost their life; some estimate that it was far higher.

• Scottish ivory hunters

• Scottish hunters had a major influence on African ivory exports. The Scottish hunter Walter Bell, known as ‘Karamojo Bell’, born c1880 in Edinburgh, developed a distinct method for shooting large elephants, known as the ‘Bell Shot’. By the time of his retirement in the 1930s, he had used this method to kill over a thousand elephants. John A Hunter, another famous Scottish hunter and safari guide in Kenya, took celebrities and international aristocrats on elephant hunts up to the 1950s. Once he was bored with guiding, he turned to hunting solely for ivory. Hunter benefitted from the colonial government’s complete control of all ivory exports at this time, which deemed his hunting legal. By contrast, ivory hunted by Indigenous Africans, much of which was destined for India, went underground as this activity was considered poaching and therefore illegal.

• One of the world’s leading ivory experts, Esmond Bradley Martin, found that during the colonial era nearly 44,000 African elephants were killed annually (between 1850 and 1914), totalling approximately 2.8 million elephants. The transatlantic slave trade and the colonial exploitation of Africa, along with the development of automatic weaponry and the growth of industrialisation, facilitated the mass slaughter of Africa’s elephants. The international trade in ivory stripped away the deep cultural, spiritual, social and environmental values ivory and elephants had symbolised in Africa’s history.

• From the mundane to the extraordinary

• Ivory has appeared in every culture and period in the most mundane and the most exquisite objects. Objects seen in the Brodie collection – such as the children’s game ‘Spellicans’, the fly whisk and small etui boxes (a type of sewing box) – all show ordinary, daily uses of ivory objects. The ivory seems plain and could have been replaced with other natural or synthetic materials. This contrasts with the use of ivory in other contexts, such as for extraordinarily detailed and significant objects like major historic artworks, thrones and royal regalia. The use of ivory in these everyday items is an interesting insight into the human perception of ivory.

• Despite the mass industrialisation of ivory during the colonial era, ivory’s social value did not heavily depreciate. This is likely due to elephants maintaining an ‘out-of-reach’ status to most European and Asian consumers – it remained an exotic material and continued to signify luxury through its rarity.

• As tools developed that enabled greater precision, such as in the shipping or medical industries, ivory was seen as the perfect material in which to carve out small detailing for these instruments. The use of ivory as a tooling material is regarded very differently when it is used as an artistic medium. African masks, Flemish Renaissance statues and Chinese puzzle balls, all made of ivory, hold different artistic and aesthetic values to different communities.

• Ivory has also long been used in both religious and secular art – its white colour makes it a symbol of purity and perfection. The rarity of ivory brings connotations of luxury, which can be an indicator of the devoutness of a follower if ivory were gifted to a religious association or leader. Today, the use of ivory in Buddhist iconography on amulets remains prevalent in Thailand’s illegal ivory markets.

• Chinese ivory heritage

• Ancient China

• Ivory carving is a long-held traditional art form in China. Records of Chinese use of ivory date as far back as the beginning of the Han dynasty (206BC–AD220). At this time, ivory would have been sourced from Asian elephants. Around the world, ivory has been recognised as a symbol for status, wealth, purity and often in feminine, sensual contexts – this was no different in Ancient China. In an Ancient Chinese record, a Chinese woman was described as an angelic goddess whilst her hair is adorned with an ivory comb, connecting ivory and femininity once again.

• During the Roman Empire, there was evidenced ivory trade in governmental envoys to China. Demand grew so much that by the 9th century, Canton (now Guangzhou) had dedicated trade routes with Arabian traders extracting ivory from North and East Africa, to supply Chinese demand.

• Peak demand

• Ivory reached its peak popularity during the Ming (1369–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties among the upper-class Chinese scholarly circles. Ivory was a material reserved for the elite; the average Chinese citizen would not have commonly encountered ivory products. Consequently, it was the export market that dominated China’s ivory industry for centuries, since domestic interest was restricted to the elite literati. The Chinese ivory objects manufactured were largely designed for foreign traders, and a thriving export market existed between China and the West.

• Export market

• By the early 20th century, Chinese ivory exports were dwindling and stocks in China were hard to come by. However, the Chinese economic boom of the 1980s and 1990s led to an unforeseen surge in Chinese demand for ivory, shifting the main market demand from Japan to the much larger potential market of the Chinese middle class.

• Chinese ivory was especially valued for the skill of the carving, compared to European, American and African styles. Chinese ivory carving was typically a generational family business. To become a master ivory carver took decades of practice under the guidance of elder family members. The detail achieved in China was unlike anything ever achieved in the West or Africa for ivory. Canton ‘puzzle balls’ were regional specialities and became a symbol for quality ivory craftsmanship. The northern Chinese ivory market specialised in intricate landscape carvings, usually on whole tusks, and supplied both an international and domestic market.

• Many of the pieces in the Brodie exhibition are Chinese exports made for the European market to cater to the West’s taste for exotic, ‘oriental’ items.

• Ivory substitutes

• Many substitutes for ivory have existed throughout history due to the costs of obtaining real ivory. The most common natural substitutes, which are both honestly and fraudulently used as ivory replicas, include bone, shell, vegetable ivory (such as tagua nuts) and helmeted hornbill (casque ivory). In more recent times, synthetic materials have prevailed as the most widely adopted ivory substitute for mass-produced products, with the development of polyester-based plastics. Other synthetic materials, such as celluloid, Ivorite and Ivoreen, have been largely replaced by resin-based plastic materials, which more accurately mimic the unique structural characteristics of elephant ivory.

• Ivory for piano keys

• Throughout the 19th century, European prosperity spurred significant interest in culture and the arts. Pianos were a key emblem of social status by the first half of the 19th century. They signified the domestication of the Victorian parlour and were inextricably tied to perceptions of ‘ideal’ femininity. At this time, only middle- and upper-class girls received music education. The household ownership of a piano, and the capacity of the women of the house (particularly unmarried daughters) to play the piano, signified much more than simply wealth. Domestic music became a form of social and cultural capital as well.

• ‘Tickling the ivories’ remains a widely understood phrase today, meaning to play the piano. Ivory keys were phased out of use in the 1950s due to the soaring costs of ivory, but an increasing understanding of the plight of African elephants played a small part in the shift to the use of synthetic ivory keys.

• There is a small community, primarily of musicians, today who believe that the tonality of ivory is unmistakable and irreplaceable with synthetic alternatives. This extends to instruments such as the Japanese koto and the Northumbrian bagpipes, where musicians have argued that without ivory components there is a loss of cultural heritage.

• How do we manage and reduce demand for ivory?

• Marketing campaigns are the main approach used today to directly dissuade ivory consumers from buying or gifting ivory products. The most effective campaigns understand and address the deep-seated values that constitute the desire for ivory. This requires cultural nuance in order to genuinely affect the consumer behaviours.

• However, these campaigns require a complementary supportive environment. We see this today in China through the increased level of environmental education paired with policy changes that limit (and potentially deter) consumption to support long-term generational change. Past campaigns that aimed to reduce demand adopted less effective, one-size-fits-all approaches. More recently, behaviour change approaches developed from the fields of marketing, psychology, sociology and economics – which are used to influence challenging behaviours such as tobacco cessation and vaccine hesitancy in the field of public health – are becoming more routinely adopted to tackle illegal and unsustainable wildlife demand. This field is now known as ‘social marketing’ – marketing techniques used for social good.

• The ivory collection found at Brodie Castle provides a small insight into the desire for ivory around the world. We see ivory in its many shapes and forms and can start to recognise the wide variety of uses and audiences that different ivory products have had over the centuries. Through this collection, the challenges associated with addressing cultural, social, historic, financial, aesthetic and personal values embedded into ivory products become apparent. Although not identical, many of these values can be found to some degree in ivory consumers’ rationale for continuing to purchase ivory today. It is only through better understanding of these connections that social marketing campaigns can be effective in influencing ivory consumer behaviour.

• The History of the Ivory Trade

• Throughout history, the human desire for ivory—used in products from jewelry to piano keys to priceless religious art objects—has far outmatched efforts to stop the killing of African elephants for their tusks. In 2012, investigative journalists Bryan Christy and Aidan Hartley explored the illegal ivory trade and the plight of Africa’s elephants, and documented their work in the National Geographic special Battle for the Elephants.

• This video excerpt from that film explores the history of the ivory trade and the resulting devastation of Africa’s elephant population—from 26 million elephants in 1800 to fewer than one million today. The clip examines factors that fueled the “ivory frenzy” of the early 1900s and documents the steady and startling decline in the elephant population. A worldwide ban on ivory sales in 1989 led to a rebound in the population, to about a million. But in 1999 and 2008, due to pressure from countries in Asia and southern Africa, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) allowed two sanctioned sales of ivory. The video looks at attempts to stem the killing—attempts that largely have proven unsuccessful, evidenced by the fact that more than 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa in 2012 alone.

• The Dark History of the Trade in Elephant Tusks

• The ivory trade is a story as old as human civilization, filled with tales of adventure, greed, and exploitation. For millennia, ivory has been prized for its beauty, rarity, and versatility, making it one of the most valuable commodities in the world. From the ivory carvings of ancient China to the ivory-handled weapons of medieval Europe, the trade in elephant tusks has left an indelible mark on human history. But with all its glamor and allure, the ivory trade has a darker side. The quest for ivory has led to the widespread slaughter of elephants, pushing some species to the brink of extinction and devastating ecosystems across the globe. Today, the ivory trade continues to thrive, fueled by demand from illicit markets and perpetuated by corruption and organized crime. In this article, we delve into the rich and complex history of the ivory trade, exploring its origins, impact, and legacy.

• Ivory Hunters Decimate 50,000 Year Old Mammoth Graveyard

• The Elephant Slabs of Flora Vista: Enigmatic Artifacts with Ancient African Origins

• The Ancient Beginnings of the Ivory Trade

• There’s plenty of evidence that mankind’s tragic obsession with harvesting ivory dates back to ancient times. To begin with, the later dynastic Egyptians were hunting elephants for ivory from as early as the 15th and 16th centuries BC.

• Egyptian pharaohs would hunt Asian elephants along the Euphrates River while the Egyptian empire as a whole sourced ivory from the lands that bordered the Upper Nile. Records have been found that indicate that in 700 BC alone Egypt imported 700 tusks from Somalia.

• The Ancient Greeks and Romans were also fans of using ivory in their artwork. Roman ivory mainly came from Africa and was sourced from North African Elephants. These were the same elephants that were used in the Roman colosseum fights and which the Romans also sometimes used in military campaigns.

• The Roman trade in ivory was such that in 77 AD Pliny the Elder (a renowned Roman historian) complained that ample supplies of ivory were a thing of the past unless one traded with India. The Roman demand for ivory had completely depleted the supply and decimated elephant populations in Africa. It took these populations, and the resultant trade in African ivory, several centuries to bounce back.

• Over in India, there is evidence that ivory was being used by the Harappan civilization (located in the Indus River Valley) as early as the third millennium BC. There is also evidence that from around the sixth century BC, Indians were importing large amounts of ivory from Ethiopia. At the same time, ivory from Indian elephants was also being exported to the west. In short, it seems just about everyone had their fingers in the ivory trade.

• Ivory During Medieval and Renaissance Eras

• As mentioned above, the African trade saw a serious decline towards the end of the Ancient period (around 500 AD) due to serious declines in elephant populations. The early years of the Christian era saw a continuation of this trend.

• There seems to have been relatively little interest in the use of ivory during this time. This was probably due to the decline of the Roman Empire and the fact there just weren’t a lot of elephants left.

• Sadly, by around 800 AD the ivory trade was getting back on its feet. The Islamic expansion of the seventh and eighth centuries AD opened up the trans-Saharan trade routes. This allowed traders to transport ivory from West Africa to the North African coast. From there the ivory could be easily shipped into the Mediterranean and then Europe where it was used for religious purposes.

• The spread of Arab trade also led to an increase in ivory being shipped to Central and East Asia the demand there for African ivory was much less. The simple fact was they could source their own from southeast Asian elephants.

• The Resurgence of Ivory From the 1500s-1700s

• This was the status quo until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers turned the trade on its head. Portuguese navigators began exploring the West African coastlines during the 1400s. What did they find along the West African coastlines? Ivory and lots of it.

• The Portuguese soon joined the ivory trade, cutting out the Arab merchants Europe had once gotten its ivory supply from. Soon, other European powers followed suit. The English wasted little time in getting involved, buying vast amounts of ivory from Guinea. One historian, Clive Spinage, has estimated that from the 1500s-1700s roughly 100-120 tons of ivory may have been transported from Africa every year. During this period the Europeans shipped the ivory but the ivory itself was mainly acquired from African hunters. Sadly, history soon began to repeat itself as elephant populations near the African coasts declined.

• This led to the hunters heading further and further inland in search of large herds and soon the major problem became transporting the ivory. In West Africa, the ivory trade focused on rivers that emptied into the Atlantic, making transport no big deal. But in Central and East Africa there weren’t so many rivers. Even worse, the region was full of sleeping sickness and other deadly tropical diseases that made using animals to transport the ivory next to impossible. It soon became clear the only option was human transportation. A new, somehow even darker period of the ivory trade had begun.

• Ivory and Slavery

• It didn’t take long for the growing ivory trade and the growing slavery trade to start going hand in hand. In East and Central Africa, African and Arab slave traders began traveling inland, hunting down large numbers of captives and elephants at the same time.

• They would enslave the local population and then force them to transport the ivory along the coast. Once the poor souls reached the coast, the traders would sell them into captivity and sell the ivory for hefty profits. Not only had they solved their transportation woes, but they had also found a new source of income.

• The Colonial Era

• The colonial era saw several major shifts in the ivory trade, but it was all powered by one thing, greed. As the European colonial powers explored Africa and Southern Asia their empires hungered for the resources needed to fuel their nations.

• Sadly, ivory had a range of practical uses. It could be used to make everything from knife handles and combs to toys and piano keys. It was also popular in decorative items like furniture and works of art.

• Not content to let others do the killing, the Europeans wanted a piece of the slaughter. During the 1800s and 1900s European ivory hunters began hunting elephants in ever-increasing numbers. Part of it was to help keep up with demand, but another part was because they thought it was fun. As time went on the growing ivory trade had major implications for elephant populations across Africa.

• The Portuguese ran the West African ivory trade from the 16th century until its eventual collapse in the mid-19th century. Early on, the largest elephant populations could be found in Ghana, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast but over time numbers began to fall. This led to the trade moving southward and Gambia, Luanda, and the Congo became major hubs for the ivory trade.

• By around 1900, the Belgian Congo was exporting around 352 tons of ivory per year, around half of Africa’s total exports. It’s estimated that from 1889 to 1950 at least 550 elephants were killed in the Belgian Congo to supply this demand.

• The East African ivory trade was dominated by the Portuguese until the Arabs took over during the 19th century. While West Africa managed a relatively steady output of ivory, the East African trade was more volatile. Its trade was originally centered around the ports of Mombasa, Kilwa, Sofala, and Delagoa Bay but over time most of them dried up.

• By the middle of the 18th century, Mozambique had taken the lead as the region's biggest ivory trader, supplying 150-180 tons of ivory per year. By the early 19th century, the East African trade had moved further along the coast. It peaked from 1830-1856 with Zanzibar exporting 297 tons of ivory in 1849.

• Despite these impressive (and disturbing) numbers, the fact was that in both regions supply was beginning to run out. Average tusk weights were trending downwards. This meant stocks of fully mature and full-grown bull elephants were depleted and hunters were having to kill more and more young elephants to keep numbers up.

• The period of 1856-1857 also saw a sharp jump in the price of ivory. This led to Arab traders rushing into the region looking to make quick money. With them came a major influx of guns, which further stimulated the ivory hunt. In 1889 Zanzibar exported 222 tons, with the number averaging out to around 180 tons by the end of the century. From 1893-1894, 41000 tusks were exported from East Africa at a weight of 351 tons.

• Some quick math shows that at least 10000 elephants were killed to reach these numbers. With the trend of younger and younger elephants being hunted, it was clear that the trade was not sustainable.

• The same was true in northern Africa and throughout the 19th century, there is evidence that elephant stocks were becoming heavily depleted. From 1853 to 1879 the average amount of ivory being exported from north African countries was around 148 tons. By 1888 this was down to just 42 tons, and by 1905, only 20 tons.

• People finally began to wake up. In 1872 King Kabarega of Bunyoro in Uganda put in place a ban on the free trade of ivory. The penalty? Death. This lasted for only five years.

• In 1900 two European travelers, Rogan and Sharpe wrote, "In the greater part of Africa the elephant is now a thing of the past, and the rate at which they have disappeared is appalling. Ten years ago, elephants swarmed in places like British Central Africa, where now you will not find one". This was a slight exaggeration but not completely off. In large parts of Africa, especially the Savanna, the elephant population has been completely decimated.

• The level of greed, and short-sightedness, was astounding. Across Africa, as numbers plunged, the trade continued. In South Africa, the writing had been on the wall for a long time. In 1652 elephants were a common sight around Table Mountain. They had disappeared completely from the region by 1775. Between 1850 and 1875 South Africa was exporting an average of 50 tons of ivory a year. By 1889 it was down to just 4 tons. The elephant had essentially been hunted out of the area altogether.

• Introduction of Regulation

• Eventually, the powers that be did begin to sit up and take notice. Declining numbers could only be ignored for so long. The first attempt at regulation was made by Africa in 1822 but it largely failed.

• In 1896 German East Africa tried to bring a stop to the hunting of immature elephants by making it illegal to carry tusks that weighed less than 6.4kg. A year later Uganda and the East African Protectorate followed suit, banning tusks under 4.6kg and forbidding the killing of cow elephants (although this was down to under 4kg in 1905, before settling at 5kg in 1933).

• In 1900 several African colonies passed laws that limited large-scale elephant hunting. Combined with the collapse of the slave trade, a fall in ivory prices, and the fact that there was little demand for ivory during WW1 and WW2, elephant populations slowly began to recover.

• As they became independent during the 1960s, most African countries brought in even tougher game legislation laws and big game hunting was either outlawed completely or gated behind expensive licenses. Big-game hunting was only possible if you were a western dentist with a healthy checkbook and a need to overcompensate. Or a poacher.

• Conclusion

• Of course, we still haven’t learned our lessons. As elephant populations have slowly rebounded, restrictions on the ivory trade have slowly been rolled back. Between 1990 and 2000 the elephants in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia were once again opened up to the ivory trade.

• Local farmers argue that elephant population control is required if their crops are to survive. But others argue that any legitimate trade in ivory only encourages poaching. As long as there is an ivory trade of any kind, elephant populations are in danger.

• If the history of the ivory trade has told us anything, it's that we never learn. Throughout history, the ivory trade has waxed and waned alongside elephant numbers. Every time populations bounce back, hunters and ivory traders are always close at hand, ready to drive them back down. The fear is that one day, elephant populations simply won’t bounce back and humans will have wiped out yet another species.

• Ivory trade

• The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal,[1] black and white rhinos, mammoth,[2] and most commonly, African and Asian elephants.

• Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and Asia, resulting in restrictions and bans. Ivory was formerly used to make piano keys and other decorative items because of the white color it presents when processed but the piano industry abandoned ivory as a key covering material in the 1980s in favor of other materials such as plastic. Also, synthetic ivory has been developed which can be used as an alternative material for making piano keys.

• Elephant ivory

• Elephant ivory has been exported from Africa and Asia for millennia with records going back to the 14th century BCE. Transport of the heavy commodity was always difficult, and with the establishment of the early-modern slave trades from East and West Africa, freshly captured slaves were used to carry the heavy tusks to the ports where both the tusks and their carriers were sold.

• The ivory was used for piano keys, billiard balls and other expressions of exotic wealth.[4] At the peak of the ivory trade, pre-20th century, during the colonization of Africa, around 800 to 1,000 tonnes of ivory were sent to Europe alone every year.

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