Figure 4

“Piedra de corvina” (meagre fish white stone). The otoliths of this fish species acquire a shape in which many people say that they see the face of the Virgin Mary, a fact that makes these mineral structures in a reputed protective amulet. In the pendant presented here we can see one of these otoliths mounted in gold. It belongs to the mother of one of the authors (JRV, Badajoz), who carries this jewel around her neck to prevent attacks of lumbago.