STUDY OF MAMMOTH TUSKS USING X-RAY DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS, THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS AND IR SPECTROSCOPY

Studies were carried out using differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XDA) and IR spectroscopy of cement and dentin of a number of mammoth tusk (MT) samples. It has been established that hydroxyapatite (HAP) in the composition of MT can be present in different stoichiometric atomic ratios. It was shown that aliphatic groups of collagen are practically absent in the studied samples, which is probably caused by their oxidation under the influence of atmospheric oxygen and during fossilization processes. The DTA method revealed that the cement of the MT is more mineralized and contains a larger amount of low molecular weight organic substances, and dentin contains more moisture and high molecular weight organic compounds.