Our special video series looks at some of the more unique shells at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel, ...

1,200 BC: Cowrie Shells The first use of cowries, the shell of a mollusc that was widely available in the shallow waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, was in China. Historically, many ...

After looking at Olinda – the shiny red and black seed used in the traditional Avurudu game ... a household where the rattle of the cowries and the clatter they make when tossed onto the inverted ...

The cowrie, a type of marine snail, has very colourful shells which were used as money. It seems that it wasn’t just the colours that made the shell appealing - its small size and durability ...