Arkfeld farm site, #44FK732, fossil gomphothere tusk with horse carving
length 38cm, diameter 7cm at large end, weight 2.4kg
Photos by Adam Arkfeld, Clear Brook, Virginia
Adam Arkfeld writes, "This tusk was recovered in a wet clay bed formed by runoff from limestone bedrock. The ivory has been completely mineralized. It appears that the horse was carved when the tusk was still "green." The level of carving detail would not be possible on limestone."
Close up of horse head and neck, including incised lines
Adam Arkfeld notes the Virginia carved horse head has a stylistic similarity to this horse head petroglyph image from Chauvet cave, France
I propose the incised lines illustrated by the white marks on the gomphothere tusk may represent a simple bridle and rein on the horse figure. Pleistocene human control of the horse is suspected in Eurasia but not in North America. With this interpretation of this find, it may be worth considering this possibility here.
Horse head carved on ivory, Hohle Fels, Germany, ca. 30,000 years BP. (image flipped for a more direct comparison to the Arkfeld site example)
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Tip of a mammoth tusk carved as two reindeer depicted one behind the other; 13,000 years old approximately; Montastruc, France, © The Trustees of the British Museum
