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Tracing the Source of the Elephant And Hippopotamus Ivory from ...

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The example <strong>from</strong> Tomb 24 at Megiddo is not MB II, but was out <strong>of</strong> context and is LB II<br />

instead (Liebowitz 1987: 14), although Gachet (1993) does mention some Iron Age<br />

examples <strong>from</strong> Tell Qasile and Gezer (Gachet 1993: 77). Duck pyxides are always<br />

carved <strong>from</strong> hippopotamus ivory, generally <strong>from</strong> lower canines for <strong>the</strong> body (Gachet<br />

1993: 68; Krzyszkowska 1990: 78).<br />

Two types are represented at Ugarit (Ras Shamra): duck containers with a back-<br />

turned head and an oval lid (17 examples, see Figure 30) and containers with a forward<br />

looking head, two-part wing-shaped lid, and a separate tail joined to <strong>the</strong> body (five<br />

examples). These two types are extremely standardized shapes, as with most ivory<br />

objects at Ras Shamra, and were painted. The majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> containers were recovered<br />

<strong>from</strong> funerary contexts, while some fragments such as heads, necks, lids or bases (never<br />

bodies) derive <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> houses, suggesting composite pieces made <strong>of</strong> ivory and wood<br />

(Gachet 1993: 68).<br />

The back-turned head shape is considered to have originated in New Kingdom<br />

Egypt, but is well represented and standardized in Syria and Palestine at such sites as<br />

Alalakh, Kamid el Loz, Megiddo, Akko, Sidon, Lachish, and Gezer. They have also<br />

been found in Cyprus at Enkomi and Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios as well as in <strong>the</strong><br />

Aegean at Ialysos, Asine, and possibly at Zafar Papoura and Mycenae. The forward<br />

looking head type has a similar origin and distribution, but occurs less frequently. This<br />

type has been recovered <strong>from</strong> Alalakh, Meskene-Emar, Byblos, Kamid el Loz, Megiddo,<br />

and Tell Dan, in addition to Cypriot examples <strong>from</strong> Enkomi and Kition (Gachet 1993:<br />

77). However, while some scholars consider <strong>the</strong> back-turned head type as blatant copies<br />

<strong>of</strong> Egyptian types, possibly constructed <strong>of</strong> wood (Bryan 1996: 49), Lilyquist (1998: 27)<br />

73

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