Symbolism of shells in world culture | Eliza Rybska | EDUKACJA BIOLOGICZNA I ŚRODOWISKOWA 1/2014 19 Introduction Art might be treated as a tool that helps us with many Symbolism of shells issues during education such as: improvement of read- The need for integrated or holistic teaching is not ing skills when integrated with visual art (especially in world culture a new phenomenon and has been described repeatedly for elementary school pupils), reading comprehension, (Bereźnicki, 1999). Integrated (holistic) teaching is un- critical thinking skills (Ewing, 2010) developing crea- Eliza Rybska derstood here as an opportunity to merge otherwise tive problem solving (Foshay, 1998) and writing skills scattered information (content) (Zaczyński, 1996). This by encouraging creative thinking (Gibson and Larson, information is mostly spread between different class- 2007). Vetulani (2011) emphasised that “art, its recep- Summary: room subjects. So far it has been difficult to put this type tion and creation, are immanent and specific character- The article presents a collection of reflections on the shell of teaching into practice, especially at junior high and istics of human nature and are factors that activate the as an object placed in a cultural context. Symbolism of the high schools. One concept for cross-curricular paths to whole brain. Learning perception of art and art produc- shell and its possible artistic representations are the main deal with a holistic view of the world was described in tion expands our cognition (cognitive attention), and focus. There are over 30 symbols or symbolic representa- the previous Polish core curriculum (Journal of Laws with it, all cognitive aspects of the brain and should be 2002 No. 51 item 458). The current core curriculum tions of the shell classified into 7 categories. These are de- especially promoted at all (...) levels of education.” SCIENCE scribed with supporting examples from culture, art and from 2008 (Journal of Laws 2009 No. 4 item 17) also myth. Particular attention was paid to the anthropologi- provides some opportunities for integrated and holistic Art and symbolism cal meanings of the shell with reference to characteristics teaching by introducing project work at the third level or aspects of human behaviour. of education. The next opportunity emerges as a new Culture and art in particular seem to be an intrinsic Key words: symbol, shell symbolism, nature, culture subject Nature at level 4. In the description of this sub- to Homo sapiens. The first cave paintings appeared as ject in the Core Curriculum, thread 16. – art and sci- representations of the surrounding world. Many schol- received: 16.01.2014; accepted: 4.02.2014; published: 28.03.2014 ence, theme 3 reads as follows: “16.3. Identification of ars and scientists have deliberated whether art should plant and animal materials used by ancient artists, sym- be considered one of the characteristics of human na- SCHOOL bolic representations of plants and animals in paintings, ture (Gombrich, 2008; Vetulani, 2010; Gazzaniga, 2011). art and epidemiology (disease of humans, animals and For the artist, art is a form of communication with the Coherent with plants preserved in ancient art)”. This highlights the world. It can be considered as a form of communica- the Polish core curriculum: need to integrate information from various fields of tion, the task of which is not only to express the art- science with culture. The role of art in education was ist’s emotions, but also to evoke specific emotions in th supplementary subject Nature – 4 educational stage demonstrated by the founders of the Leonard Bernstein the audience. Gibson (2009) claimed that “art com- Thematic threads: Centre, which prepares of teachers, schools and com- municates with the recipient mainly by anecdotes and IN SHORT 16. Science and art munities to introduce the artistic process to teaching in symbolism and the symbol is something that has to 22. Beauty and charm. all subjects (http://www.leonardbernstein.com/lbcent- be deciphered to understand the meaning of the whole er.htm). In the centre a method called “Artful Learning” work”. The brain also uses symbols, not only images, (learning through art) was developed and introduced but also a symbolic system of words, i.e., language (see to schools scoring test results above the lower quartile. Maruszewski, 2011). Ramachandran (2004) claims that dr Eliza Rybska: The Faculty Laboratory of Teaching Bio- Teachers and parents noted significant progress in child- “every painting is a ‘super stimulus’, crafted by an artist logy and Natural Sciences, Collegium Biollogicum at Adam ren’s achievement. There is evidence that the introduc- to strongly stimulate the human brain”. For the pur- Mickiewicz University in Poznań tion of art as a tool in education yields tangible benefits. poses of this article, the definition of a symbol is ac- EDUKACJA BIOLOGICZNA I ŚRODOWISKOWA | ebis.ibe.edu.pl | [email protected] | © for the article by the Authors 2014 © for the edition by Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych 2014 Symbolism of shells in world culture | Eliza Rybska | EDUKACJA BIOLOGICZNA I ŚRODOWISKOWA 1/2014 20 cepted after Kopaliński (2007) who states that symbols the beauty of colours and shapes produced by marine may be understood as objects – notions, ideas, feelings molluscs. Shells were often used by goldsmiths and associated with one’s attitude (i.e., those which seem sculptors as raw material to produce objects. Many similar or to have “the same rhythm”) as an object or unrivalled jewellery designs and other artistic crafted concept. Thus, analysis of the meaning of a symbol is objects date from the 16th and 17th century. Among these not easy, as it could be ambiguous, “every object that were Nautilus cups made out of snail and nautiloid is a symbol tends to have many meanings, to be stable cephalopod shells (Nautilus sp.) (see phot. 1). Shells and unstable (…) one of the properties of a symbol is its were often used in exchange for goods in trade, and indefiniteness, and also ambiguity, contradictions, and in some cases they were exported to where people had the fact that its real meaning is revealed only to those never seen the sea. It would not be surprising for shells in the know”. In the introduction to Symbols of nature, to have been perceived as wondrous or even magical Impelluso (2006) suggested that before the Enlighten- objects in some regions. Cowry shells (e.g., Cypraea ment “the world of nature had many symbolic mean- annulus and C. moneta), well known to travellers, Phot. 1. Nautilus Cup, the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, ings, which were so complex that today humans are not were used as currency over 4000 years ago, long be- Denmark SCIENCE capable of understanding them and objects represented fore the Phoenicians invented money as such (Samek, in still life works may have a great variety of mean- 1992; Biedermann, 2001; Lakshmi, 2011). The Chinese The beauty of shells was very often an inspiration in ings, in which every fruit, flower and animal denotes were probably the first to use these shells as legal ten- the design of objects of applied art. Shells of Cypraea one particular characteristic”. He also remarked that der (Lakshmi, 2011). Cowry shells (kauri) were also were used for example for spoons (phot. 3). Even today symbolism is deeply rooted in culture, where the hu- used as payment by Gorals from Podhale who made goldsmiths use some types of shells to produce jewel- man being is at the centre, but they are always intimate good quality linen canvas. As Zygmunt Kuchta (chief lery. Good examples are Trochidae (Tectus niloticus) with nature and its representations such as the beauty of of the Bucovina People’s House) explained, when the (Samek, 1992., Beads made 82 000 years ago were found a flower in full bloom. Also Eliade (1998) claimed that gorals earned well, they wanted to flaunt it and placed in a limestone cave in Grotte des Pigeons (Taforalt, SCHOOL “thinking in symbols is not only a domain of a child, necklaces made of cowry shells on their hats. Roman Morocco) in North Africa. They were perforatedNas - poet, or a mentally ill person; it is closely associated Dzioboń, poet and activist of the Polish Podhale Soci- with human existence, it appears earlier than the ability ety (Polish Highlanders Alliance), claimed that Gorals to speak and think discursively. A symbol reveals some wore these shells, because their whiteness contrasted aspects of reality – usually those implicit – which can- well with the black hat. If this were to have been the not be easily understood”. case, they would have used other ornamentation such as straps contrasting with the hat. Klein in “A Short de- IN SHORT Shells in culture scription of the Tatra Mountains” (transl. Radzikowski, 1897, after Szaflarski, 1972) stated that Gorals brought Shells have always delighted with their beauty and shells from the Adriatic sea, processed them on stones, have inspired multitudes of artists. As Zieliński (2001) grinding away the bulge so that holes formed to al- points out, in the 16th and 17th century, shells were low the shells to be threaded onto often red woollen the theme of many artistic still life representations. string. Since the shells serving as currency were quite In France and the Netherlands there were art schools small, Gorals used strings of a hundred to facilitate which specifically taught how to create an image of counting. Phot. 2. Modern jewellery made out of sea snails shells EDUKACJA BIOLOGICZNA I ŚRODOWISKOWA | ebis.ibe.edu.pl | [email protected] | © for the article by the Authors 2014 © for the edition by Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych 2014 Symbolism of shells in world culture | Eliza Rybska | EDUKACJA BIOLOGICZNA I ŚRODOWISKOWA 1/2014 21 sarius gibbosulus (Bouzouggar et al., 2007).