The Artistry of Shells

What is the first known artwork? According to The-Shell-Seeker-by-Juli-Berwald, this goes back half a million years to ''our ancient cousin,'' Homo erectus.

The author, who is an ocean scientist, says the creation consists of a few etched lines on a mussel shell. 

Also inspired were people in Israel, Algeria, and Morocco, who made shell beads from mud snails as long as 75,000 years ago.

Shells later were used by others in jewelry and mosaics. They have even been transformed into instruments. And they became the muse for a variety of artists, Adriaen Coorte, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Salvador Dali among them. 

While Berwald's main focus is on the animals inhabiting the shells, the book also offers lots of illustrations which (pun intended) illustrate the artistry of shells. Examples include the Red Abalone, Blue Mussel, Alphabet Cone (with markings that resemble letters), and Queen Conch (which appears to be wearing a cape). 

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