The genome of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana has five chromosomes. Here we report the sequence of the largest, chromosome 1, in two contigs of around 14.2 and 14.6 megabases. The contigs extend from the telomeres to the centromeric borders, regions rich in transposons, retrotransposons and repetitive elements such as the 180-base-pair repeat. The chromosome represents 25% of the genome and contains about 6,850 open reading frames, 236 transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and 12 small nuclear RNAs. There are two clusters of tRNA genes at different places on the chromosome. One consists of 27 tRNA(Pro) genes and the other contains 27 tandem repeats of tRNA(Tyr)-tRNA(Tyr)-tRNA(Ser) genes. Chromosome 1 contains about 300 gene families with clustered duplications. There are also many repeat elements, representing 8% of the sequence.

The tremendous diversity and variety of miniature objects in Hellenistic Babylonia reflects a social environment of intensive cross-cultural interaction and widespread change. Considering the aspect of miniaturization itself reveals how tiny things participated in this social transformation. Through their appealing and non-threatening materiality, miniatures established an intimate connection with their users that encouraged identity sharing and illusions of power over the outside world. Miniatures of performing bodies, such as musicians and theatrical masks, induced users to experiment with new enactments of Greek cultural identities. Soldiers, deities and other powerful bodies in miniature enabled fantasies of control over the wars and political upheavals endemic to Hellenistic Babylonia. Display-oriented figurines depicting interpersonal relationships encouraged self-identification and shaped new ideals of social behaviour. The miniature objects of Hellenistic Babylonia were more than just witnesses to social change; they were also participants in the processes of negotiating new identity norms for this multicultural society.

Miniature and fragmentary objects are both eye-catching and yet easily dismissed. Tiny scale entices users with visions of Lilliputian worlds. The ambiguity of fragments intrigues us, offering tactile reminders of reality's transience. Yet, the standard scholarly approach to such objects has been to see them as secondary, incomplete things, whose principal purpose was to refer to a complete and often life-size whole.

No abstract

No abstract