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Sea Snail Shell
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Sea Snail Shell

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Hammered from gold sheets, this oversized snail shell (100 BC–1000 AD) from Restrepo, Valle del Cauca, reflects the sacred power of marine life in pre-Hispanic Colombia. Likely a ritual object or offering, its spiral form evoked fertility, cosmic cycles, and the underworld in Indigenous cosmologies. Its scale suggests elite ceremonial use.
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