Browsing by Author "Morris, Alan"

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    Adventures in forensic anthropology
    (2012) Morris, Alan
    Professor Morris of the Department of Human Biology (Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT) presented this talk for the Friends of the South African Museum at the Iziko Museum. The content of this audio lecture will be of interest to anthropology and anatomy students, as well as anyone who enjoys crime series and wishes to learn more about forensic anthropology.
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    Anthropometric variability, equipment usability and musculoskeletal pain in a group of nurses in the Western Cape
    (1997) Botha, Winifred Edna; Bridger, Robert S; Morris, Alan
    This study examined the anthropometry and anthropometric fit of a group of ward and theatre nurses in Western Cape private hospitals. Anthropometric variables were measured using a sample of nurses and a correlation matrix generated. All nurses were given a questionnaire concerned with operational problems in the work environment and musculoskeletal pain. The questionnaire was also completed by a group of sedentary nurses. The ward and theatre nurses reported numerous problems in the working environment, including lumbar backache, inadequate space and equipment that caused bodily discomfort. There were consistent, statistically significant associations between the frequency of occurrence of these problems and the anthropometric data indicating that the problems were caused or amplified by body size variability and were not simply general usability problems which would affect all nurses irrespective of their body dimensions. Further studies testing specifically for the consequences of mismatches and body size variability are recommended.
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    An archaeological, anthropological study of the human skeletal remains from the Oakhurst Rockshelter, George, Cape Province, Southern Africa
    (1989) Patrick, Mary Kennedy; Morris, Alan
    Osteological and dental analyses have been widely used to outline a graded response to nutritional and physiological stress in human bone. It is argued that agriculturalists and transitional agro/pastoralists are more stressed than the hunter gatherers who preceded t hem. This is evinced by mortality profiles, mean age at death and the number and extent of stressors observed in the skeleton such as enamel hypoplasiae, porotic hyperostosis and Harris lines. Agriculturalists and agro/pastoralists are thought to be more prone to these stressors as they relied heavily on root crops and cereals for their nutrients. This exposed them to periods of episodic starvation and physical stress. Hunter gatherers in comparison are thought to have subsisted on a relatively healthy diet, offering more and better quality protein and so reducing the incidence of episodic and general stress. An alternative to this diet-dependent hypothesis is suggested by the analysis of forty-six skeletal remains from the nonagricultural, marine-dependent population of Oakhurst from the South coast of southern Africa. Porotic hyperostosis and enamel hypoplasiae are just as common among these marine-dependent people as among transitional agro/pastoralists. These findings imply that both individual development and population growth rates at Oakhurst were interrupted episodically and generally, and that these interruptions were substantially more common than in living and recently extinct hunter gatherers and pastoralists in southern Africa.
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    An assessment of the health status by non-specific stress indicators in early farming populations from central and southern Africa
    (2006) Dlamini, Nonhlanhla; Morris, Alan
    The adoption of an agricultural lifestyle had profound implications for nutritional ecology, health and behaviour of human populations. The goal of this project was to generate information about the health status and disease patterns of early farming populations from central and southern Africa. Skeletal material was obtained from various 'Iron Age' sites in South Africa, Ingombe Ilede from Zambia, and Sanga and Katoto from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Palaeopathological analyses was done through the examination of non-specific stress indicators that included cribra orbitalia/porotic hyperostosis, Harris lines, linear enamel hypoplasias, subperiosteal bone lesions and dental diseases. The evidence from palaeopathology indicated that the environments played a major role in causing differences observed at micro-scale level. It is suggested that the health problems of these agricultural peoples are a result of their sedentary lifestyle and aggregation, which promoted maintenance and spread of infectious diseases; as well as high carbohydrate diets and dependence on a few main foodstuffs that affected their iron levels. The individuals from the forest region were less healthy than those in the dry or wet savanna zones. Also, the impact of the stress experienced by these societies was not sufficient to cause stunted growth and thus did not affect their terminal heights. The complex relationship between the environment, socio-cultural factors and biology has shown that subsistence economy only influences a fraction of human behaviour, health and well being. The results of this study argue that generalisations about prehistoric farming peoples cannot be made, until further research work is done.
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    Dialogues with the dead : an osteological analysis of the palaeodemography and life history of the 18th and 19th century northern frontier in South Africa
    (2002) Peckmann, Tanya Rochelle; Morris, Alan
    Osteological, dental, and molecular analyses were conducted on remains from seven historical archaeological sites within South Africa. The emphasis was on the collection of lifestyle data for the purpose of adding to the unwritten history of indigenous South African peoples and to give voice to a once forgotten group of peoples. The demographic distribution reveals three different community dynamics: the Griqua sample are a pastoralist group incorporating some agricultural activities, the Colesberg individuals are an indigenous group resembling a migrant workers population living on the margins of society, and the Wolmaransstad demographics are suggestive of a Zabantu labouring community. All individuals are relatively healthy with low rates of dental disease and trauma and share similar growth patterns to living populations. However all of these individuals display high frequencies of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia, skeletal manifestations of iron deficiency anaemia. Many theories about the occurrence of anaemia are discussed and the hypothesis that, in these individuals, it is related to infection by the smallpox virus is investigated through the analysis of ancient DNA.
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    The early inhabitants of the Upemba depression, the Democratic Republic of Congo
    (2014) Dlamini, Nonhlanhla; Morris, Alan; Sealy, Judith C
    This research set out to shed light on the contradiction between the archaeological evidence pointing towards cultural continuity and the Luba’s rejection of ancestral relationships with the human skeletal remains found in the Upemba Depression of Central Katanga, the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was done by assessing the biological variation of the human skeletal remains of the early inhabitants from the Upemba Depression in the southeast of the Katanga Province (DRC) by using metric and non-metric dental morphological traits. Dental analyses of these Iron Age people have revealed homogeneity between the sexes, time periods and sites in Central Katanga. This is in contrast with the oral history from the Luba, who believe that the Iron Age remains are of their enemies who came from the northeast. In support of the archaeology, the dental morphological results from the current research have confirmed that present-day Luba people can trace their origins in Central Katanga as far back as AD 700.The analysis of patterns of dental disease, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes as well as phytoliths demonstrate that the diets and behaviours varied amongst these Iron Age communities. This may have been related to differences in food preparation and hygiene.
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    Identifying the dead : eighteenth century mortuary practices at Cobern Street, Cape Town
    (1998) Apollonio, Heather; Hall, Martin; Morris, Alan
    A unique opportunity to study historic burial practices in Cape Town arose in 1994 when construction activities at Cobern Street, Green Point revealed an eighteenth century burial ground. Subsequent salvage excavations unearthed approximately 65 burials and scattered skeletal material (both historical and precolonial) representing a total of 121 individuals. A variety of cultural material was found with the burials. The following is a summary of the excavation activities, and a detailed description of the burial patterns and grave goods unearthed at the site. An attempt is made to construct a cultural identity for the Cobern Street burials, and to determine what, if anything, burial practices have to contribute to our understanding of eighteenth century colonial society. The burial patterns were divided into four analytical categories, covering a spectrum ranging from the Later Stone Age to the end of the eighteenth century. The artefacts are divided into six groups; Later Stone Age artefacts, coffin hardware, burial items, clothing accessories, personal items (excluding clothing residues), and intrusive items. Burial items and artefacts are considered against the spatial layout of the site to determine that Cobern Street was used as used as an informal cemetery by lower class members of Colonial Cape society, primarily during the eighteenth century.
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    An odontological analysis of 18th and 19th century burial sites from in and around Cape Town
    (2007) Manyaapelo, Thabang; Morris, Alan
    The development of the city of Cape Town in the last 20 years has led to the discovery of burial sites 110t sufficiently documented in the city's archival records. Human remains under study were recovered from three different locations namely Cobern Street (11=28) mid 18th century; Marina Residence (11=40) and Polyoak (11=9) both late 18th to early 19th century. The aim of this study is to investigate oral hygiene; dental pathologies; behaviour; lifestyle aspects and geographic origins as seen on the dentition using standard osteoscopic methods. Calculus deposition which is an indicator of poor oral hygiene was found in 98.7% of the individuals. Pathologies such as caries at 4.3, abscesses at 2.5 and teeth lost antemortem at 8.8 per mouth, the Cape Poor were found to be similar to 18th century poor communities. The evidence points more towards a difference in oral hygiene practices but similar diets between the three communities. The seemingly shared social class does not, at least in the earlier times of the colony, mask the diverse cultural heritage as evidenced in the dental behaviour through intentional, unintentional dental modification as well as habitual dental markers.
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    Schooling, 'culture' and class : a study of White and Coloured schooling and its relationship to performance in sociology at the University of Cape Town
    (1985) Morris, Alan
    This thesis is an exploratory endeavour to investigate 'white' and 'coloured' schooling and the relationship between this schooling and performance in Sociology at the University of Cape Town. It investigates these aspects using a number of methodologies. The first chapter reviews the South African literature on the relationship between schooling and university performance and how schooling is generally portrayed. It then proceeds to lay a theoretical basis for investigating schooling and how schooling influences performance in Sociology. The theoretical framework was significantly influenced by my empirical research. In this chapter, although the primary focus is on white and coloured schooling, some attention is also given to African schooling. The theoretical framework stresses the relative autonomy of the school and the importance of the social class origins of pupils. It illustrates that the social class composition of a school is crucial in shaping the pedagogical process and academic achievement. It shows that schools in the same educational authority can be very different primarily due to the differing class origins of their pupils. This is illuminated firstly, by reviewing the literature in this area and secondly, empirically; for example, by showing how matric results are clearly related to a school's class composition. The second chapter is a statistical investigation of the relationship between schooling and Sociology results at the University of Cape Town. It examines the Sociology results of students who have emerged from schools under the white educational authorities and compares them to the results of students who have emerged from schools under the Department of Internal Affairs educational authority. It indicates that the differences are often not statistically significant and thus that the racial structuring of the educational system does not necessarily lead to students who have emerged from the white educational authority schools being academically superior. It also investigates the relationship between matric aggregate/matric English symbols and Sociology results. It illustrates that although a relationship generally does exist there are also many individual exceptions. The third chapter is based on in-depth interviews with Sociology students, school teachers and principals. Drawing on the interview material it argues that different types of schools can be identified. Each type is dominated by a specific pedagogical process and students who attend one type are more likely to be prepared for Sociology than students who attend another type. This section thus draws on, substantiates and develops the theoretical framework outlined in chapter one and moves beyond the purely statistical approach of chapter two. The fourth chapter summarises the results of a questionnaire survey. It endeavours to assess the relationship between social class, schooling and Sociology results. It thus complements the proceeding chapters. An important finding is that a very small proportion of students who enter the Sociology Department are of working class or lower petit bourgeois origins. A second important finding is that very few students felt that they were prepared by their schooling for Sociology.