Male Narrator: One of the most valuable materials in the Ancient Andes was the shell of the Spondylus, a white, red, orange, or purple bivalve—or type of mollusk—with a spiny surface. It resembles the clay forms on the top of the ceramic vessel you see here.
[slow, somber percussion, with native flute evoking period and mood]
When the hollow spines are cut horizontally, they can be strung as beads through the hole at the center. Beads made from Spondylus shell form the bulk of the sumptuous collar, which showcases the especially prized orange Spondylus princeps, as well as purple beads made from another species.
Spondylus thrives in tropical waters, like those off the coast of Ecuador and further north. [music ends] Peru’s coastal waters are too cold to sustain them. Joanne Pillsbury:
Joanne Pillsbury: So, the material has to be imported into Peru. And it’s not all that easy to acquire. It’s a fairly significant dive in an era before diving tanks. They were also seasonally toxic. So, they couldn’t be eaten at all seasons of the year. They were really considered to be a food of the gods. It’s a material that’s very closely associated with divine powers and with water and ideas of fertility.
Male Narrator: Ancient Andeans called Spondylus the “daughters of the sea, the mother of all waters.” The mollusks were so important that their function extended beyond the luxury arts and ritual consumption.
Joanne Pillsbury: We also know that Spondylus shells were ground up and scattered in front of the ruler, where he was to walk. Indeed, there was an individual whose job was to be the purveyor of [rattle sound effect] Spondylus shell for the royal court. Spondylus shells were placed in tombs, [sound effect ends] they were placed in offerings, and they were an important part of curandero or healers’ kits as well.
