Dr. Dan Killam on Nostr: The shells of some thorny oysters (Spondylus) are often colored a rich red-orange ...

The shells of some thorny oysters (Spondylus) are often colored a rich red-orange color, due to protein pigments in the shell matrix. They thus became highly valued for jewelry around the world, from Papua New Guinea to the Andes! The Inca, for example, valued it more highly than gold (I agree!). Spondylus artifacts in the Peruvian Andes are often made from shells harvested hundreds of miles away in Ecuador #clamFacts