This photo shows Raw elephant tusks from the 16th century Bon Jesus shipwreck. (Credit: National Museum of Namibia)
(CN) A Portuguese trading ship named the Bon Jesus sank off the southern coast of Africa in 1533, loaded to the gills with gold, silver and ivory and it’s proven a real treasure trove to scientists.
On its way to India when it went down, and discovered only in 2008, researchers have scoured the ship’s remains to learn what they can about 16th century trade routes and the elephants from whom its ivory was poached.
An international team from Namibia, South Africa, the U.K. and the US collaborated to investigate the remains of the shipwreck. They traced the DNA contained in over 100 raw ivory tusks to determine exactly where the elephants originated, which turned out to be a bit of a surprise. The team released their findings in a study published Thursday in the journal Cell Press.
Credit: Nicholas Georgiadis
In 1533, a Portuguese trading vessel carrying forty tons of gold and silver coins along with other precious cargo went missing on its way to India. In 2008, this vessel, known as the Bom Jesus, was found in Namibia, making it the oldest known shipwreck in southern Africa. Now, an international collaboration of researchers in Namibia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States reporting in the journal
Current Biology on December 17 have found that the ship s cargo included more than 100 elephant tusks, which paleogenomic and isotopic analyses trace to many distinct herds that once roamed West Africa.
Africa: 100 Elephant Tusks on Sunken Ship Lost 500 Years Ago Now Found Published December 17th, 2020 - 08:07 GMT
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Highlights
The study reveals that African forest elephants were already living in the savannah in the early 16th century – challenging the notion that they first moved out of the rainforest in the early 20th century.
A hoard of more than 100 elephant tusks aboard a sunken ship that was lost for nearly 500 years has been traced to West Africa in a new study.
Scientists used DNA analysis to compare the well-preserved tusks – recovered from a 16th century Portuguese shipping vessel called the Bom Jesus that was discovered in 2008 – to those belonging to various species of modern-day elephants.
A hoard of more than 100 elephant tusks aboard a sunken ship that was lost for nearly 500 years has been traced to West Africa in a new study.
Scientists used DNA analysis to compare the well-preserved tusks – recovered from a 16th century Portuguese shipping vessel called the Bom Jesus that was discovered in 2008 – to those belonging to various species of modern-day elephants.
The 500-year-old ivory matched up with the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), which is native to humid forests in West Africa and Congo Basin.
Traders aboard the ill-fated shipping vessel would have maimed the species on the West coast of Africa in their attempts to flog the creatures ivory in India – before the ship sank and the traders perished at sea.
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Ivory from shipwreck reveals elephant s decline
Researchers have examined ancient DNA preserved in elephant tusks that were among the cargo of a 487-year-old shipwreck.
Their forensic examination of the 100 tusks pinpointed the devastation caused to the elephant population by centuries of ivory trade.
On this single ship, researchers found genetic evidence of 17 distinct herds of the threatened animals.
Today, scientists can find only four of those herds surviving in Africa.
The tusks were so well preserved - in cold water off the Namibian coast - that scientists were even able to find out what type of diet the elephants had, which revealed where they had lived and been hunted.