Bands, zigzags, spots, and dots combine and recombine, not randomly, but according to a plan known to each species. To even a casual observer, shapes are as distinctive as color. Family - Murex, Muricidae Philippines Mathematicians have modeled a shell's geometry, a closed curve revolving about a fixed axis. Each gastropod species' genetic code specifies the parameters which result in the incredible array of shapes, all variations of a logarithmic spiral. West Indies People have used mollusks and their shells for millennia.
Mollusks are a major food source still, especially in communities adjacent to the ocean.
The beauty of shells appealed also to these inhabitants, and shells were, and are, collected and transformed into ornaments for both personal decoration and embellishment of clothing and other objects. Even in prehistoric times, shells were traded far from their place of origin, often becoming symbols of wealth and status. The following are examples of marine shell objects found on prehistoric Native American sites in Tennessee. Because of their rarity as imports from the Gulf coast, they were probably status objects. The archaeological shell artifacts in the exhibition, including those pictured below, are from the McClung Museum collections.