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Seashell
The seashell is one of the symbols of deepest religious
content and it has an ancestral mystical tradition. Ancient Mexican philosophy
explains the shell as a symbol of birth, generation and origins, that is
to say, of life itself. The superb carving of this monumental shell represents
a species of the genus Strombus gigas or "wing shell," abundant
on the Gulf of Mexico and in the Mexican Caribbean. In the excavations
of the Templo Mayor Project, several examples of this type were found.
Last Modified: January 14, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História,
México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc,
México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright
1997
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