Calcium carbonate
Shells from both marine and land organisms consist almost entirely of calcium carbonate, either as aragonite or as calcite, or some mixture of the two. Calcium carbonate is very susceptible to dissolving and recrystallizing; the recrystallized material will contain carbon from the sample's environment, which may be of geological origin. The recrystallized calcium carbonate is generally in the form of calcite, and often has a powdery appearance; samples of a shiny appearance are preferable, and if in doubt, examination by light or electron microscope, or by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy, can determine whether recrystallization has occurred.