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Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks and teeth of animals, that is used in art or manufacturing. It consists of dentine, a tissue that is similar to bone. It has been valued since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, and dominoes. Elephant ivory is the most important source, but ivory from mammoth, walrus, hippopotamus, sperm whale, killer whale, narwhal and wart hog are used as well. 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ivory Identification Guide - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory )〕 Elk also have two ivory teeth, which are believed to be the remnants of tusks from their ancestors. 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Elk Facts )〕 The national and international trade in ivory of threatened species such as African and Asian elephants is illegal.〔Singh, R. R., Goyal, S. P., Khanna, P. P., Mukherjee, P. K., & Sukumar, R. (2006). Using morphometric and analytical techniques to characterize elephant ivory. Forensic Science International 162 (1): 144–151.〕 The word ''ivory'' ultimately derives from the ancient Egyptian ''âb, âbu'' ("elephant"), through the Latin ''ebor-'' or ''ebur''.〔The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford 1993), entry for "ivory."〕 ==Uses== (詳細はGreek and Roman civilizations practiced ivory carving to make large quantities of high value works of art, precious religious objects, and decorative boxes for costly objects. Ivory was often used to form the white of the eyes of statues. The Syrian and North African elephant populations were reduced to extinction, probably due to the demand for ivory in the Classical world.〔Revello, Manuela, “Orientalising ivories from Italy”, in BAR, British Archaeological Reports, Proceedings of International Symposium of Mediterranean Archaeology, February 24–26, 2005, Università degli Studi di Chieti, 111-118.〕 The Chinese have long valued ivory for both art and utilitarian objects. Early reference to the Chinese export of ivory is recorded after the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian ventured to the west to form alliances to enable the eventual free movement of Chinese goods to the west; as early as the first century BC, ivory was moved along the Northern Silk Road for consumption by western nations. Southeast Asian kingdoms included tusks of the Indian elephant in their annual tribute caravans to China. Chinese craftsmen carved ivory to make everything from images of deities to the pipe stems and end pieces of opium pipes.〔Martin, S. (2007). ''The Art of Opium Antiques''. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai〕 The Buddhist cultures of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, traditionally harvested ivory from their domesticated elephants. Ivory was prized for containers due to its ability to keep an airtight seal. It was also commonly carved into elaborate seals utilized by officials to "sign" documents and decrees by stamping them with their unique official seal.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Asianart.com )〕 In Southeast Asian countries, where Muslim Malay peoples live, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, ivory was the material of choice for making the handles of kris daggers. In the Philippines, ivory was also used to craft the faces and hands of Catholic icons and images of saints prevalent in the Santero culture. Tooth & tusk ivory can be carved into a vast variety of shapes and objects. Examples of modern carved ivory objects are okimono, netsukes, jewelry, flatware handles, furniture inlays, and piano keys. Additionally, warthog tusks, and teeth from sperm whales, orcas and hippos can also be scrimshawed or superficially carved, thus retaining their morphologically recognizable shapes. Ivory usage in the last thirty years has moved towards mass production of souvenirs and jewelry. In Japan, the increase in wealth sparked consumption of solid ivory ''hanko'' - name seals - which before this time had been made of wood. These ''hanko'' can be carved out in a matter of seconds using machinery and were partly responsible for massive African elephant decline in the 1980s, when the African elephant population went from 1.3 million to around 600,000 in ten years.〔〔EIA (1989). ("A System of Extinction - the African Elephant Disaster". ) Environmental Investigation Agency, London.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ivory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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