Cowrie shells have a long, layered history that stretches far beyond their recent resurgence in home decor. Long before they ...

“Before you do anything else,” curator Chris Meyer said the minute I arrived at the National Museum of Natural History’s Invertebrate Zoology collection, “you have to vote for beauty.” He led me ...

Have you ever wondered about the true nature of cowrie shells? Where do they come from? Are they simply shells, or is there more to their story? You may have a vague understanding that cowries were ...