The ivory at pulp cavity surface is the last ivory to form. Therefore, a radiocarbon date from the ivory at the pulp cavity has the potential to reveal the year of death. Figure 1B shows some radiocarbon dates measured in a tusk from a zoo elephant that died in 2008.

How is ivory dated?

The commonly applied method to determine the age of ivory is radiocarbon dating in the form of bomb pulse dating, which however will fade out soon.

What materials are best dated with carbon?

Radiocarbon dating is best used for biological artifacts that originally got their carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide and are less than 50 000 years old.

What age is ivory legal?

100 years old Items that are at least 100 years old are exempt, but you must be able to provide proof of age. The ivory in the item comes fully or partially from an animal on the Endangered Species Act list (ESA).

What isotope are they using to date the elephant deaths?

C-14 C-14 dating methods can be used to determine the time of death of wildlife products. We evaluate poaching patterns of elephants in Africa by using 14C to determine lag time between elephant death and recovery of ivory by law enforcement officials. Most ivory in recent seizures has lag times of less than 3 y.

Why is it important to know how old the ivory is?

By looking at the levels of this carbon isotope — known as carbon-14 — in elephant tusks and ivory, researchers can find out how old they are. Knowing the age of elephant tusks is important, since many regulations of ivory trade are date-specific.

How Carbon 14 can help stop elephant poachers?

By measuring radioactive carbon-14 deposited in tusks and teeth following open-air nuclear bomb tests, the method reveals the year an animal died, and thus whether the ivory was taken illegally.