… IN CULTURE AND MYSTICISM

The spiral shape of the ammonite case has deeply touched people’s imagination and mystical feelings for thousands of years.

The shape of the shell follows the marvellous mathematical law of the logarithmic spiral – better known in art as the golden ratio.

In the Vogelherd cave near Ulm, a piece of a man-made ammonite was discovered that is around 40,000 years old. In ancient Egypt, priests used ammonites to inspire their prophecies, and to this day they play a role among Hindus and Buddhists as a symbol of enlightenment, and is an aid to meditation.

The amulets on display come from Papua New Guinea. Members of the Dani tribe, who practised cannibalism less than 100 years ago, wore these ammonite amulets around their necks to protect them from evil spirits.