Electron Microprobe Analysis of 9th–12th Century Islamic Glass from Córdoba,Spain

Twenty‐six samples from domestic assemblages of 9th–12th century Córdoba were subjected to electron microprobe analysis. The results reveal two main compositional types. The first, encountered in 13 of the samples, seems to result from the combination of plant ashes with high‐impurity sand, and has some contemporary parallels from Syria and Egypt. The second type is a lead–soda–silica glass, encountered in a relatively high proportion of the glasses (11 of the 26 sampled), possibly formed by the addition of lead metal to existing glasses and with very few known parallels. These are among a very small number of results available to date on the chemical composition of glasses from medieval Spain, and the presence of a high proportion of lead–soda–silica glasses is particularly interesting, possibly indicating a technological practice unique to, or originating in, the western Muslim world.     

Making Distinctions: The Contribution of Hector Landouzy to Differential Diagnosis in Relation to Hysteria and Epilepsy

Hector Landouzy (1818-1864) is known for his Traité Complet de l'Hystérie (1846), which was crowned by the Académie de Médecine, but this work is not given much importance in historical accounts. It deserves more attention because it was more than an orthodox statement about the nature of hysteria. In the context of the diagnostic confusion between epilepsy and hysteria, it introduced a method of presenting criteria to facilitate diagnosis. An examination of French authors on epilepsy and hysteria in the second half of the nineteenth century suggests that this method probably set the example which was to be followed by later clinicians, including Charcot at the Salpêtrière.     

The Production and Circulation of Carthaginian Glass Under the Rule of the Romans and the Vandals (Fourth to Sixth Century ad): A Chemical Investigation

Fifty‐seven glass samples from Carthage dating to the fourth to sixth century ad were analysed using the electron microprobe. The results show that these samples are all soda–lime–silica glass. Their MgO and K₂O values, which are below 1.5%, suggest that they were made from natron, a flux that was widely used during the Roman period. The major and minor elements show that these samples can be divided into four groups, three of which correspond to the late Roman period glass groups that were found throughout the Roman Empire: Levantine I, and ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ HIMT. Of particular interest is our Group 2, which is technologically and compositionally similar to HIMT glass and the CaO and Al₂O₃ values of which are similar to those of Levantine I. Glass of similar composition has been reported by several authors and is predominantly found dating from the late fifth to seventh century. This could represent a ‘new’ glass group; therefore further study is needed to determine its origin. Also, this study suggests that the Vandal invasion in North Africa did not disrupt the glass trade between Carthage and the Levantine coast.     

Keeping an eye on your pots: the provenance of Neolithic ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops,Youra, Greece

Combined petrographic and chemical analysis of MN and LN ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops on the island of Youra, Greece, has revealed a compositionally diverse assemblage with a range of different local and off-island sources. Ceramics deposited in Neolithic times on this barren, rocky outpost of the Sporades chain may have originated from a surprising number of possible origins, including from the Plain of Thessaly, Euboea and the volcanic northeast Aegean islands. This picture challenges traditional assumptions about Neolithic pottery production and indicates that significant movement of ceramics was already taking place within the northern Aegean as early as the beginning of the sixth millennium BC. The discovery of a persistent local pottery tradition, that is also found on the neighbouring island of Kyra-Panagia, indicates significant continuity in ceramic technology over some 1500 years.     

Making distinctions: the contribution of Hector Landouzy to differential diagnosis in relation to hysteria and epilepsy

Hector Landouzy (1818-1864) is known for his Traité Complet de l'Hystérie (1846), which was crowned by the Académie de Médecine, but this work is not given much importance in historical accounts. It deserves more attention because it was more than an orthodox statement about the nature of hysteria. In the context of the diagnostic confusion between epilepsy and hysteria, it introduced a method of presenting criteria to facilitate diagnosis. An examination of French authors on epilepsy and hysteria in the second half of the nineteenth century suggests that this method probably set the example which was to be followed by later clinicians, including Charcot at the Salpêtrière.     

Jean-Martin Charcot and the epilepsy/hysteria relationship

Research from many perspectives has been made on the work of the French neurologist, J.-M. Charcot (1825-1893) with particular reference to his fame for his studies and "construction" of hysteria. What has not been demonstrated so far is the extent to which Charcot's construction can be explained by the perceived relationship between hysteria and epilepsy and Charcot's access to epileptic patients at La Salpêtrière. From the confusion that reigned concerning hysteria and epilepsy, both separately and in relation to each other, Charcot claimed to have isolated hysteria as a distinctive and universal pathology. This claim was partly based on the "grande attaque", representing the most intense degree of hysteria. A comparison with Gowers, the contemporary English neurologist suggests that diagnosis was the function of the practitioners' preferences; and a linguistic analysis pinpoints Charcot's problems in describing an isolated pathology in terms of its relation to its neighbour, epilepsy.