Why is ivory so precious? What is the use of ivory?

Ivory refers to the elephant's teeth, which are homologous to human oral teeth, but the elephant's teeth have undergone special evolution and become particularly thick and long. Ivory is a hard ivory-colored object with finger-like upper teeth, hardness of 1.5 and specific gravity of 1.7 to 1.9. Its main component is dentin, which is similar to annoying bones. The texture is dense and solid, smooth and white. Since ancient times, it has been loved by people because of its purity and gentleness. African elephants both have teeth, and the male elephant is longer than the female elephant. The largest is more than 2 meters. About1kg; Asian elephants are small and have no teeth, while male elephants only have teeth. Compared with African elephants, the tooth length is shorter, and the dentin and luster are slightly worse.

Ivory products are often processed into products based on ivory, such as tooth carving crafts, decorations and traditional daily necessities. Because of its many functions, small quantity and high value, it once became a symbol of status and wealth. Developed countries such as Europe and America like jewelry made of ivory. Japan uses ivory as a high-grade raw material to make various handicrafts and daily necessities, such as decorations, molds, musical instrument parts, decorations, engravings and so on. Some wealthy businessmen in the Middle East use ivory as building materials. Ivory artworks have high archaeological value, collection value, artistic appreciation value and economic value. Ivory processing has a long history in China. As early as primitive society, people knew how to make sculptures with bones, horns and teeth. At the same time, the ivory carving technology is also an important part of China traditional culture, which plays an important role in the art history of China and even the chemical industry. There are various techniques of tooth carving, such as round carving, relief carving, open carving, ground carving, weaving and micro-carving. There are many kinds of tooth carvings according to their uses, including vertical carvings, utensils, study, furniture, ornaments and so on.

Elephant is an endangered wild animal concerned by the international community and an indispensable part of the ecosystem. However, for a long time, smuggling activities of ivory and its products have occurred frequently. The poaching and poaching of African elephants have seriously threatened the safety of elephants and other endangered animals. With the improvement of public awareness of wildlife protection, countries around the world have gradually stepped up their efforts to crack down on smuggling ivory and its products.