Description: NOTES: This is a Genuine Shark's Tooth, As Such the Tooth has Sharp Edges and May Have a Sharp-Pointed Tip. Length Measurements are Taken Using Slant Height. The Shell in the Item's Picture is Used for Background Purposes Only and is Not Included. Brand New, Never Used Polynesian Tribal-Designed, Natural Fossil Shark Tooth Necklace; 100% Genuine Natural Otodus Obliquus Mackeral Shark Tooth (Not Repaired, Not Restored, Not Enhanced) With Hand-Braided Adjustable Cord Necklace With Beef Cow Bone Closure Accents. Design: Large Fossil Shark Tooth (Extinct Mackeral Shark) #1; Cream Tone, Natural Untreated, Beef Cow Bone Closure Accents, Natural Fossilized State, Tan Waxed-Nylon Braided Necklace Cord, Adjustable Lengths; Location: Atlas Mountains Phosphate Pits, Khouribga Ouled Abdoun Basin, Morocco; Shape: Curved Root Lobes, Dome-Shaped Front Crown, Flattened Backside, No Serrations, Anterior and Lateral Positions; Enamel Color Background: Cream to Dark Tan Cream Enamel With White to Gray Tan Roots and Lobes; Age Period: Early Eocene, 50-55 Million Years Old; Measures: Tooth is Approx. 28mm-39mm Widest (Approx. 1 1/16" to 1 9/16" Widest) X 1 5/8" to 2.0" High (Slant Height); Size: Necklace is Approx. 27.0" Long, and Downward Size Adjustable to Shorter Lengths as Desired. Weight: Approx. 10.5-16.1 grams Total. Features: This Beautiful Hand-made Polynesian Tribal-Designed Necklace is Created With a Fossilized Niho `O Mano Niuhi (Lamnidae Mackeral Shark Tooth). Each Tooth is Collected in its Natural State and is Not Color Enhanced or Repaired in any Way. Each Tooth is Securely Lashed and Mounted With a Hand-Braided Polynesian-Style, Tan Waxed-Nylon, Adjustable Cord to Enhance the Detailing. The Necklace’s Closure is Crafted With Two Round Beads and an Rounded-Barrel, Adjustable Length Stopper Both Created From Carved Beef Cow Bone to Accentuate the Overall Appearance. A Very Nice Prehistoric Fossilized Shark Tooth to Add to Your Wearable Collection! Background: These shark teeth belonged to a large prehistoric Mackerel Shark, which lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, ranging from about 60 to 45 Ma (Million Years Ago). Otodus obliquus was the “ruler” during the early Eocene, approx. 55-50 Ma (million years ago). The primary phosphate mine location for this type of Mackeral Shark tooth is located in the Atlas Mountains Phosphate Pit of Morocco. These teeth are noted for their wide triangular crown and some are found intact with each side cusp. These teeth are fairly common and very showy, making them a must include in every fossil shark tooth collection. These beautiful and colorful teeth display no serrations. This shark's smooth enamel color backgrounds display a colorful range from cream to a rust-brown chocolate and Include tan, creamy-orange, butterscotch, silver-gray, and cream-lavender colors contained within the range. Teeth are highly variable in color, a consequence of the minerals in the water that formed the deposits. The shapes range from nearly straight (anterior teeth) to slightly curved (lateral teeth). Teeth average approx. 2.0"-2.5" high on larger specimens, but range from approx. 1.0" up to 4.0" in slant height overall. Many are found in an attached matrix form. These teeth display a nice attractive glossy enamel appearance with thick and curvy roots without having been repaired. Please note that exceptional O. obliquus are hard to find as most teeth are destroyed when collected due to crude extraction techniques. Most teeth will lose one or more side cusps and/or roots breaking when being extracted. The Paleocene and Eocene Periods: The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65.5 to 56 Ma (million years ago). It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic era. The Paleocene epoch immediately followed the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous, known as the K-T boundary (Cretaceous - Tertiary), which marks the demise of the dinosaurs (except their descendants, modern birds) and much other fauna and flora. The die-off of the dinosaurs left unfilled ecological niches worldwide, and the name "Paleocene" comes from Greek and refers to the "older" (palaios) and "new" (kainos) fauna that arose during the epoch. It was not until the Eocene, 55 Ma, that true modern mammals developed. Warm seas circulated throughout the world, including the poles. The earliest Paleocene featured a low diversity and abundance of marine life, but this trend reversed later in the epoch. Tropical conditions gave rise to abundant marine life, including coral reefs. With the demise of marine reptiles at the end of the Cretaceous, sharks became the top predators. Marine faunas also came to resemble modern faunas, with only the marine mammals and the Carcharhinid sharks missing. The Eocene epoch, lasting from 56 to 34 Ma (million years ago), is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene epoch. The end is set at a major extinction event called Grande Coupure (the "Great Break" in continuity), which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. The name Eocene comes from the Greek eos (dawn) and kainos (new) and refers to the "dawn" of modern mammalian fauna that appeared during the epoch. During the Eocene, plants and marine faunas became quite modern. Many modern bird orders first appeared in the Eocene. The Eocene oceans were warm and teeming with fish and other sea life. The first Carcharinid sharks appeared. Known as "ground sharks", order Carcharhiniformes, they are the largest order of sharks; they are also called whaler sharks. With over 270 species, Carcharhiniforms include a number of common types, such as the blue shark, catsharks, swellsharks, and sandbar shark. About Fossil Shark Teeth: Shark teeth are relics of shark evolution and biology. Shark skeletons are composed entirely of cartilage. Often the only parts of the shark to survive as fossils are teeth. Fossil shark teeth have been dated back hundreds of millions of years. The most ancient types of sharks date back to 450 million years ago during the Late Ordovician period, and they are mostly known from their fossilized teeth. Shark teeth are commonly found fossils for two reasons. Sharks continually shed their teeth, and some Carchariniformes can shed approximately 35,000 teeth in a lifetime. Secondly, the environment in which the teeth are deposited after falling from a shark's jaws has a high concentration of phosphate. A shark can have hundreds of teeth in its jaw. Sharks and rays both have a polyphyodont dentition, in which old teeth are shed continually throughout the fish's lifetime, and new ones are rotated into place on a conveyer belt-like structure. Shark teeth develop along the inner surface of the jaw cartilage, and are attached to the dental membrane. When the tooth forms in the gum tissue, the crown cap develops first, followed by the root. When they lose a working tooth it will be replaced by the next tooth behind it. All sharks have multiple rows of teeth along the edges of their upper and lower jaws. Typically a shark has 2-3 working rows of teeth with 20 to 30 teeth in each row. The replacement rate has not been measured in most sharks but normally the teeth seem to be replaced every two weeks. The lower teeth are primarily used for holding prey, while the upper ones are used for cutting into it. The teeth range from thin, needle-like teeth for gripping fish to large, flat teeth adapted for crushing shellfish. Shark teeth are formed by the same mechanism as the scales on sharks' skin. The oldest known records of fossilized shark teeth being found, are by Pliny the Elder, in which be believed that these triangular objects fell from the sky during lunar eclipses. Later on, during the Middle Ages, the term Glossopetrae (tongue-stones) was coined. Glossopetrae, were commonly thought to be able to be a remedy or cure for various poisons and toxins, including helping in the treatment of snake bites. Due to this ingrained belief, many noblemen and royalty wore shark tooth pendants or kept Glossopetrae in their pockets as good-luck charms. This may have led to the modern-day practice of wearing shark tooth necklaces. In Oceania and America, shark teeth were commonly used for tools, especially weapons such as clubs and daggers, but also to carve wood and as tools for food preparation. For example, various weapons edged with shark teeth were used in Hawai`i, with some types reserved for royalty. Phosphate pits, mostly comprised of fossils bones and teeth, or kaoline pits, are ideal places to look for fossil shark teeth. About Lamnidae and Otodus Obliquus: Lamniformes is an order of sharks, also known as mackerel sharks (which may also be used to refer to the sub-group of Lamniformes, Lamnidae). It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the Great White Shark, and some extremely rare types, such as the Megamouth Shark. Otodus was a large prehistoric mackerel shark which lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, approximately about 60 to 45 million years ago. This Shark Was Considered the "Great Grandfather" of the Megalodon! The shark is known from the fossil teeth and a few fossilized vertebral centra. Like other elasmobranchs, the skeleton of Otodus was composed of cartilage and not bone, resulting in relatively few preserved skeletal structures appearing within the fossil record. The teeth of this shark are large with smooth cutting edges, measuring up to 4 inches in slant length. Some Otodus teeth also show signs of evolving serrations. Scientists estimate that this shark could probably grow up to 30 feet long. Otodus was a wide-spread species, as its remains have been excavated from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The Otodus's diet probably consisted of marine mammals, fish, and other sharks. It was among the top predators of its time! Scientists postulate that Otodus evolved into the genus Carcharocles, given substantial fossil evidence in the form of transitional teeth. Some teeth have been excavated from the sediments of the Potomac River in Maryland, USA, Ypres clay in Belgium, and western Kazakhstan, which are morphologically very similar to Otodus teeth but with lightly serrated cusplets and a serrated cutting edge. These transitional fossils suggest a worldwide evolutionary event, and support the theory that Otodus eventually evolved in to Carcharocles aksuaticus and thus initiated the Carcharocles lineage eventually eventually evolving into Megalodon. Hawai`ian History, Legends, Myths and the `Aumakua: Ancient and many modern day Hawai`ians consider sharks as their `Aumakua (family guardian). Hawaiians did kill sharks, but only for specific purposes, and given that they used nothing more than a canoe and a spear or fishhook, obviously they took sharks in small quantities and they wasted nothing. An old Hawaiian legend tells of a woman who freed herself from a shark attack by telling it that he was her `Aumakua. The shark let her go and said he would recognize her in the future by the tooth marks he left on her ankle. Since then, it is said, some Hawaiian people tattoo their ankles with a Niho Mano (Shark Tooth) triangular pattern to let sharks know that their `Aumakua is a shark. The shark tooth pattern is also a popular design in kapa, or barkcloth. A feather cloak in the Bishop Museum, belonging to Kiwalaa`o, a fellow warrior of King Kamehameha, is decorated with five equilateral triangles, a motif depicting shark teeth. The fierceness of the shark was associated with the wearer of the cloak. Before missionaries introduced their concept of one God to Hawai'i in 1820, Polynesians had an intricate nature-oriented belief system. Sharks were viewed in complex ways. Before contact with the West, shark teeth provided their most frequently used cutting edge, functioning as a knife. Sharks skins were used for the membrane of temple and hula drums of large size. Most important, because of their dangerous nature, some sharks were considered to be the equal of high ali’i (noble chiefs), and to some, ali’i was attributed the dangerous devouring nature of sharks. Although shark meat from certain species was occasionally eaten by men, it was forbidden to women because of the association of sharks with religious concepts of kapu, power, and high ali’i status. To Hawaiians, the `Aumakua is a benevolent guardian spirit or family protector, a dead ancestor's spirit that takes on another form for a very specific purpose. It could come in the form of clouds, trees or animals, a sea turtle, a hawk, a lizard, a pueo (owl) or any other animal, plant, rock or mineral. Maui Native Hawaiian cultural specialist and Kahu (Caretaker) Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr. stated, "Our people conveyed spiritual importance to animal deities that were created to protect them and their life style." One of the best known Hawaiian `Aumakua is the shark. Though some view the practice as a religious one involving worship, it is not. Most regard it as a continuation of an ancient belief system, a cultural practice that does not interfere with other religious beliefs. A revered scholar of Hawaiian culture once explained, "As gods and relatives in one, they give us strength when we are weak, warning when danger threatens, guidance in our bewilderment, inspiration in our arts. They are equally our judges, hearing our words and watching our actions, reprimanding us for error and punishing us for blatant offense." Sometimes these spirits are called upon by surviving family members through special rituals. Usually this was done to ask for protection, comfort and spiritual support or to grant requests for mercy and to ask for warnings of pending disasters or destruction. Another way would be some kind of sign when an `Aumakua made itself known, by behaving in a non-threatening manner, or even coming to the aid of a family member in a dangerous situation. The recognition between human and animal is instant and mutual. Many a canoe paddler has told of being lost or in danger between the islands, only to be guided by his `Aumakua in the form of a dolphin or shark to a safe landing. A frequent assumption is that an entire species was regarded as `Aumakua. However, usually one individual animal might be possessed by an `Aumakua, and then only as the occasion might demand. Some families, for example, believed that the spirit of an ancestor could appear as a shark, perhaps to chase fish into their nets, or to guide a lost canoe to safety. This does not imply that these families regarded all sharks as their `Aumakua; neither does it mean that a single particular shark was always an `Aumakua. To be precise, it means that an `Aumakua had chosen to take possession of a particular shark for a particular purpose. But for these families, the killing or eating of any shark was an act of filial disrespect, for which the `Aumakua might punish them. Every Hawaiian is said to have an `Aumakua, and sometimes two (one each from their mother's side and their father's side), and many still believe in this concept. The ones that do believe are able to combine their nature-oriented beliefs of spirits with their Christian faith. Most Hawaiians will not speak about their `Aumakua with anyone outside their families as it would be disrespectful towards their ancestors.
Price: 27 USD
Location: Mililani, Hawaii
End Time: 2025-01-27T09:37:57.000Z
Shipping Cost: 4.75 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money back or replacement (buyer's choice)
Original or Reproduction: Original, Large #1, Cream to Dark Cream
Product Type: Polynesian Tribal Jewelry
Type: Fossil Shark Tooth Necklace
Necklace Length: Tan, Waxed-Nylon Cord
Design: Genuine Fossil Mackeral Shark Tooth
Materials: Shark Tooth, Beef Cow Bone Closures
Necklace Size: Adjustable, 27.0" Long
Age Period: Eocene, Approx. 50-55 Million Years Old
