A case of ‘butterfly’ vertebra from Sardinia

We describe a rare congenital malformation of the spine known as ‘butterfly’ vertebra, which is classified as a congenital developmental anomaly in the early embryonic period, resulting in a sagittally cleft vertebral body. In our case, the anomaly affects an adult female and involves the fifth lumbar vertebra and first sacral vertebra; it is not associated with other anomalies of the spine. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new programme of obsidian characterization at Çatalhöyük,Turkey

This paper details the chemical sourcing of 135 obsidian artefacts from Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic site in central Anatolia, the trace-elemental analyses being undertaken in two laboratories using ICP-MS, ICP-AES and LA-ICP-MS. The material is assigned to three sources in Cappadocia: Göllü Da?-east, Nenezi Da? and Ac?göl West. The various interrelationships of technology, raw material and date are considered, the data suggesting an increased reliance upon the Nenezi Da? source in the latter part of the Early Neolithic, a shift that coincides with, and is related to, the introduction of new blade technologies.     

A new map of Qâni’ (Yemen)

Qâni’, the main seaport for the export of goods from South Arabia, was founded by the Hadramawt kingdom in the first century BC. A geomorphological survey and a general surface reconnaissance of Qâni’ have revealed a new image of the site. Originally a royal entrepôt in a fortress on an ancient island, separated from the mainland by a silted channel lined with a mangrove forest, Qâni’ gradually grew and spread around the beach fronting the mooring place of the trade ships that arrived by sea. Sacred spaces, cemeteries, dwellings and trade quarters appear to be well‐defined areas forming a real town within the limits imposed by the surrounding sea.