VietNamNet Bridge – Archaeologists found a fossil elephant tooth in early March in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

The fossil tooth is believed to be the tooth of an Asian elephant, with an age of 30,000-50,000 years.

“This is the first time a fossil tooth of this species of elephant has been discovered in Thai Nguyen,” said Dr. Trinh Nang Chung, who led the archaeological survey.

The tooth was founded in Than Sa River in Vo Nhai district, the section running through the Da Nguom, a famous archaeological site in Thai Nguyen.

The tooth was unearthed at the depth of 3m, in a hole dug by gold miners. Gold miners firstly thought that this is a normal rock but they kept it because the “rock” has a strange shape.

Dr. Chung said that this is the fossil tooth of an Asian elephant, belonging to Elephas Maximus species, which appeared over one million years ago and still exist today. Asian elephants weight from 3,000 to 5,000 kilos and 2-4 meters high.

Archaeologists said that this elephant species lived in the same time with primitive men, the owners of the famous Nguom culture in Than Sa valley, Thai Nguyen province.

PV