One person in Gia Lai owned ivory for more than 19,000 years

This fossil ivory is mined in the ground in Chu A Thai commune, Phu Thien district, Gia Lai province.

Gia Lai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued a certificate of registration of the owner of fossil ivory dating to more than 19,000 BC for Mr. Nguyen Truong Son to stay in Pleiku City.

This fossil ivory is mined in the ground in Chu A Thai commune, Phu Thien district, Gia Lai province, consisting of 4 separate pieces with a total length of 1.26m, the original circumference of 47cm and a total volume of 24kg.

The site of exploitation is about 30km away from Ham Rong volcano (Pleiku). The outer layer of the ivory is still covered with tiny colored beads. According to the newly recognized owner of the fossil ivory - Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, those tiny beads can be lava glass in the process of Ham Rong crater is still active.

The Vietnam General Geological Society, the Institute of Gemstones and Jewelry, has issued certificates of inspection of gems for this fossil ivory. On that basis, the Vietnam Institute of Archeology also dated the fossil ivory dating from 19,450 BC with a reliability of over 95%.

Based on the hollow (marrow) of the fossil ivory, the owner said that it was possible that he owned half of the ivory, the total length of the original ivory could reach 2.7 meters.

This is considered precious data for scientists to study the size of elephants living in the Central Highlands during the BC era. Perhaps the size of the elephant was much larger than it is today.

Mr. Nguyen Truong Son is currently a specialist in forest animals, a member of the Sub-Institute for Sustainable Forest Management and Forest Certification under the Vietnam Forestry Science and Technology Association.

In recent years, he has achieved about 20 models of creating valuable animal models for the sub-institute, actively contributing to the study and conservation of rare and precious animal species in our country.