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1
Nemangwele, Fhulufhelo. "Radon in the Cango Caves." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2005. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive element in the 238U decay series that is found in high concentrations in certain geological formations such as Caves. Exposure to high concentrations of radon has been positively linked to the incidence<br />
of lung cancer. This study used Electret ion chambers and the RAD7 continuous radon monitor to measure radon concentrations in the Cango Caves in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Measurements were taken during summer i.e. February 2004 and March 2005. The results for the radon activity concentrations range from the minimum of<br />
about 800 Bq.m-3 to a maximum of 2600 Bq.m-3. The two techniques give very similar results, though the Electret ion chamber results appear to be consistently higher by a few percent where measurements were taken at the same locations. A<br />
mathematical model has been developed to investigate the radon concentrations in the Cave. Diffusion and ventilation have been considered as mechanisms for explaining the distribution of radon concentrations. The ventilation rate in the Cave has been estimated under certain assumptions, and it is found to be about 7 ×<br>10&minus<br>6 s&minus<br>1 for the Van Zyl hall which is the first large chamber in the Cave. The radon concentration increases as one goes deeper into the Cave, but then becomes fairly constant for the deeper parts. The annual effective dose that the guides are exposed to in the Cave as a result of the radon concentrations, depends strongly on the time that they spend in the Cave and in which, halls they spend most of their time in the Cave. The initial results indicate an annual effective dose of 4-10 mSv, but this needs to be further investigated.
2
Craven, Stephen Adrian. "Cango Cave, Oudtshoorn District of the Cape Province, South Africa : an assessment of its development and management 1780-1992 : short title, Management problems at Cango Cave." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17328.
Full textAbstract:
Includes bibliographical references.<br>No detailed investigation has been previously made of the legal status, administration, history, management, finances, and conservation status of a show cave in South Africa. This study, using archival sources and field work, makes a thorough assessment of Cango Cave, a well-known show cave in the Swartberg foothills north of Oudtshoorn in the Cape Province of South Africa. Repeated field trips to Cange Cave and to other caves in the area have confirmed the environmental deterioration of Cango Cave and its surroundings. This study has shown that such deterioration has been caused by human pressures on a non-renewable resource. Reading of the extensive Government and other archives, supplemented by newspaper and other published material, has for the first time enabled the scientific, administrative and financial history of the Cave to be available in one document. Analysis of this assembled evidence, augmented by reading between the lines where the evidence is occasionally missing, has shown the reasons for the failure of successive Cave managements during the past two centuries to operate on a conservation basis. This failure to conserve Cango Cave has occurred despite the avowed policy of every political master of the Cape since 1820 that the Cave is a national asset which shall be conserved. The thesis commences with a description of the location and topography of Cango Cave, followed by a review of cave conservation literature and a summary of the published information on the Cave. There follows a detailed account of the discovery and development of the Cave from 1780 until 1992, and an assessment of its financial status. The impact of humans on the Cave, and its conservation status, are examined in detail. The above data are then discussed at length, and the reasons for the present unsatisfactory management structure identified. Having demonstrated the past and present management failures at Cango Cave, recommendations are made for better management structures and for the necessary applied research. Such research will provide the information which is essential for the future management of Cango Cave on a conservation basis.
3
Heaton, Jason L. "Taxonomy of the Sterkfontein fossil Cercopithecinae the Papionini of Members 2 and 4 (Gauteng, South Africa) /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2006. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3240029.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Anthropology, 2006.<br>"Title from dissertation home page (viewed July 16, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-10, Section: A, page: 3878. Advisers: Travis R. Pickering; Kevin D. Hunt.
4
Pickering, Robyn. "A new Uranium-Lead chronology for the early hominin bearing caves of South Africa /." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2009. http://www.ub.unibe.ch/content/bibliotheken_sammlungen/sondersammlungen/dissen_bestellformular/index_ger.html.
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Taylor, William Andrew. "Factors influencing productivity in sympatric populations of Mountain Reedbuck and Grey Rhebok in the Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve, South Africa." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2004. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02152005-111334/.
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Pienaar, Marc. "Dating the stone age at Rose Cottage Cave South Africa : an exercise in optically dating cave sediments." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06052007-084723.
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Stratford, Dominic Justin. "The underground central deposits of the Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/11470.
Full textAbstract:
Ph.D., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011<br>Work on Sterkfontein cave deposits has generally focussed on clarifying the life histories of interned hominin remains. Less attention has been paid to the depositional context of the fossils and the specific stratigraphic processes involved in the formation of deposits, and their interaction within the cave system. Also lacking is an understanding of the complex processes influencing the distribution and integrity of the faunal and artefact assemblages. This research applied a broad-spectrum multidisciplinary approach to investigate a previously unexamined area of the caves with a particularly rich depositional history. The underground central deposits represent several infills of important fossil and artefact-bearing sediments. These sediments have accumulated into one of the deepest central areas of the Sterkfontein cave system creating a confluence area with a complex formation history. Three excavations (STK-MH1, STK-MH2 and STK-EC1) uncovered seven deposits. These deposits document a depositional history ranging from the earliest introduction of allogenic sediments (STK-MH1 T4), to the commercial exploitation of the caves through mining and tourism (STK-MH1 T1, STK-MH2). The stratigraphic sequence for the underground central deposits exhibits multiple formation processes including deposition (through numerous processes), erosion, collapse, diagenetic modification, deformation and displacement. The detailed stratigraphic history of these deposits was elucidated utilising sedimentological, fabric, stratigraphic, taphonomic and taxonomic analyses.
As well as deciphering the complex formation history of this important area, this research attempted to identify the influence of cave sedimentation processes on faunal distribution and assemblage integrity. Faunal assemblages are prone to extensive modification caused by sedimentation and re-sedimentation processes mixing and distributing deposits through the caves. Varying sedimentological properties within fossil-bearing sediment gravity flows can cause the destruction of primary context taphonomic evidence, the concentration of fossils
representing multiple stratigraphically distinct facies, and deposit-wide fossil distributions based on element size and shape. In addition to these processes, it was found that different skeletal elements change shape in different ways through breakage, thereby changing the specific mobility of the fossils and their potential distribution through the sediment body. Not identifying or not accounting for these post-depositional processes can lead to non-representative sampling, and to the misinterpretation of taphonomic and taxonomic data.
8
Venter, Claudia Nicole. "Environmental analysis of modern speleothems from Sterkfontein Caves and its implications for reconstructing palaeoenvironments." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24030.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
Johannesburg, 2017<br>During the Plio-Pleistocene, the Earth experienced a period of gradual cooling, leading to a decrease in atmospheric temperature and increased seasonality. This resulted in the aridification of large parts of Africa, and this is believed to have encouraged human evolution and innovation. Palaeoenvironmental analyses using sediment deposits as palaeoclimate proxies in the Cradle of Humankind have been used to understand the timing and intensity of this aridification by determining how changes in environmental conditions and seasonal cycles affected the South African landscape. These changes are recorded within the carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures of speleothems, which have precipitated within the Sterkfontein Caves system. The aim of this study is to understand the degree to which modern speleothems represent the modern climate and environment, and thereby deduce the reliability of speleothem deposits in the Sterkfontein Caves system as palaeoclimate proxies. Samples of modern speleothems were collected from different chambers of the Sterkfontein Caves, along with the collection of modern drip water samples bi-weekly over a period of 14 months. Oxygen and carbon stable light isotope analyses of these modern speleothem and drip water samples were used to obtain modern temperature, precipitation and vegetation data. These data were then compared to modern climatic and environmental records for atmospheric temperatures and precipitation from weather stations around the Sterkfontein Caves area. The δ13C trends produced from the modern speleothem samples reflected the current vegetation distribution in terms of C4 and C3 vegetation very well, while the temperatures calculated from the δ18O values of the modern speleothem and drip water samples displayed variations related to kinetic fractionation effects, rendering these data less useful in reflecting the current atmospheric temperatures. The δ18O values of the drip water samples, along with the measured drip rate reflected current precipitation seasonality, taking into account groundwater residence time and recharge rate. The conditions within the cave conducive to formation of the speleothems was well reflected by the pH and electro-conductivity values produced from the drip water samples. These values also provided further insight into the exterior climatic conditions.
Overall, the carbon and oxygen stable light isotope data revealed patterns present in the modern speleothem and drip water samples, which could be further related to changes in local climate during the precipitation of these modern speleothems from drip water sources. This, to a certain degree, provides evidence of the reliability of speleothems in the Sterkfontein Caves system as suitable palaeoclimate proxies with regards to vegetation and precipitation
interpretations, over a longer term scale and at higher sampling resolution.<br>MT 2018
9
Mokokwe, Dipuo Winnie. "Taxonomy, taphonomy and spatial distribution of the cercopithecoid postcranial fossils from Sterkfontein caves." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/21692.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy. July, 2016.<br>Fossil primates are some of the most well represented fauna in South Africa’s fossil Plio-Pleistocene cave sites. Sterkfontein preserves the largest number of fossil primates and a large portion of these are cercopithecoid remains. This research project provides a taxonomic analysis of the abundant fossil cercopithecoid post-cranial limb elements discovered at the site. One thousand five hundred fourteen identifiable fossil cercopithecoid postcrania from the Sterkfontein caves are analysed. From these, five genera are identified from morphologically diagnostic postcranial elements; these are Papio, Parapapio, Theropithecus, Cercopithecoides and Cercopithecus. Theropithecus is identified in Member 4, earlier than previously known. It is established that size, form and function are important factors in taxonomic studies. They play a major role in taxonomic examinations; however, they cannot be treated as disconnected facets of a taxonomic exercise. Each plays an essential role in taxonomic analyses. The study confirms that the Member 4 environment, which illustrates the turn from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene and the most mosaic of all the Plio-Pleistocene sites of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, samples the most faunal variability in the Sterkfontein Cave deposits. This research supports the hypothesis that carnivores were not the main accumulating agent for the cercopithecoid fossil remains within the caves. The carnivores, however, impacted the fossil cercopithecoid assemblage. Leopards and hyaenas are identified as some of the carnivores which accumulated the fossil cercopithecoids within the Sterkfontein caves. The research has opened a new scope for taxonomic analysis of isolated fossil cercopithecoid postcrania in the southern African fossil cave sites.<br>LG2017
10
Makhubela, Tebogo Vincent. "⁴⁰ Ar/³⁹Ar and (U-Th)/He dating attempts on the fossil-bearing cave deposits of the Malapa and Sterkfontein hominin sites of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13697.
Full textAbstract:
M.Sc. (Geology)<br>The Cradle of Humankind is a 47 000 hectare demarcated area with over three dozen fossil-bearing cave sites well known for the preservation of fossil evidence of early hominin taxa such as Australopithecus Africanus, Australopithecus Sediba, Paranthropus Robustus and Early Homo. As a result, a database of precise and accurate chronological data for fossil-bearing cave deposits of the Cradle of Humankind (similar to that for East African fossil sites) is very important, but developing one has proven extremely challenging. The main challenge is that the fossil-bearing deposits at the cradle are mainly complex breccias with a chaotic, localized stratigraphy and no association to any volcanic ash beds, unlike the East African deposits which are lacustrine and fluviatile deposits interbedded with volcanic ash layers. However, substantial success has been obtained recently through the combination of U-Pb dating of CaCO₃ speleothems and palaeomagnetic dating (magnetostratigraphy) after many attempts and unconvincing results from techniques such as biostratigraphic correlations, electron spin resonance on teeth and cosmogenic burial dating of the sediments. The problem with U-Pb dating of CaCO₃ speleothems is that this requires samples that are extremely clean (i.e. detrital-free) and have an appreciable U content (close to 1 ppm), and such material is at many sites not available...
11
Mokokwe, Winnie Dipuo. "Goldsmith’s: Preliminary Study of a newly discovered Pleistocene site near Sterkfontein." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/2061.
Full textAbstract:
Student Number : 9903519M -
MSc research report -
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies -
Faculty of Science<br>Goldsmith’s is a newly discovered fossil and archaeological site 4km south-west of the
famous Sterkfontein Cave Site, in the buffer zone of the Cradle of Humankind World
Heritage Site. It preserves one of the rare occurrences in South African fossil cave sites of
stone artefacts with associated fossil fauna. Thirteen artefacts from two Stone Age
cultures are represented within the site: namely the Earlier Stone Age and the Middle
Stone Age. Eleven stone artefacts represent the Earlier Stone Age, dated to ca, 2-1
million years within the Sterkfontein Valley sites, while two artefacts represent the MSA.
The stone tools from both cultures are not embedded in breccia and may have originated
from decalcified breccias, or alternatively from slope wash. Various faunal taxa were
recovered including bovids, primates, carnivores and others. Carnivores are the most
highly represented, followed by bovids. Analysis of bone surface modifications indicate
that the majority of the bones are slightly weathered, and some bone specimens are also
abraded, suggesting that they may have accumulated through slope wash. The high
frequencies of carnivore remains, including Dinofelis and a representation of most
carnivore body parts, support a possible death trap scenario. The fauna suggests a
palaeoenvironment with open woodland or savannah within the vicinity of a closed
environment.
12
Sambo, Recognise. "Taxon-free ecomorphological analysis of fossil bovids from the Sterkfontein and Swartkrans deposits, South Africa." Thesis, 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/31050.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, 2020<br>Sterkfontein and Swartkrans caves (1 km apart) are situated in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, Gauteng, South Africa. The two sites hold records of the two Earlier Stone Age tool technologies (Oldowan and Acheulean), and have yielded significant fossil hominins in southern Africa that span the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene period. This is the first study in the Cradle which applies a ‘taxon-free’ ecomorphological approach to investigates palaeoenvironmental changes at Sterkfontein and Swartkrans caves between 2.8 and 1.5 Ma through the functional morphology of well-preserved bovid astragali. Seven measurements were taken on 55 bovid astragali following methods employed by previous studies. A Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) was conducted to compare morphologies of unknown fossil bovids astragali from these two sites to published modern bovid astragali of known ecological adaptations (e.g., open cover, light cover, heavy cover, forest). Results show that morphologically, bovids from the two sites are adapted to a mosaic of habitats. Bovids from Sterkfontein Member 4 (STK-M4) ~2.8-2.4 Ma manoeuvered in less complex environmental settings such as open plains, grasslands, tall grasses, light bushes, as well as medium density heavy cover environments (e.g., bushlands, woodlands), and a riparian forest. Similar environmental conditions persisted to the time of Sterkfontein Member 5 East, Oldowan infill (STK-M5E) ~2.18 Ma although with more tree cover. In contrast, the environment at Swartkrans during the deposition of Member 1 Lower Bank, Oldowan (SKX-M1 LB) ~ 2.2 Ma was favourable to bovids adapted to light cover, moderate open cover and forest habitats with no heavy cover. The same conditions are evident during Swartkrans Member 2, Acheulean (SKX-M2) times ~1.5 Ma but it seems the environment was opening up more. These results suggest a time transgressive trend from medium density heavy cover and forest environments to more light cover and open environments associated with the expansion of grasslands between ca. 2.8 Ma to 1.5 Ma at the two sites. This fits well with the broader reconstructions of palaeoclimatic change in Africa and in the Cradle, which suggest drying trends resulting in more varied and open environments during the Plio-Pleistocene onwards<br>CK2021
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Mayer, Caitlin. "Does tooth size matter?: A dental measurement analysis on StW 252 from Sterkfontein, South Africa." 2016. http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses/110.
Full textAbstract:
Sterkfontein West Pit, dated to 1.7-1.9 Ma, has yielded a number of fossils that are difficult to classify, such as StW 252, which comprises cranial bone fragments, and a full set of robust maxillary anterior and posterior teeth. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether dental measurements of StW 252 more closely align with those of Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus robustus, Homo sapiens or the African apes. For M1 and M2, StW 252 is distinct from the comparative samples, and is particularly large buccolingually for M1 and mesiodistally for M2, partly resembling the dimensions of A. africanus, whereas for M3, StW 252 is mesiodistally and buccolingually large. Canonical scores axes show StW 252 as extreme in terms of size and polarized from A. robustus in terms of shape. StW 252 is distinct from both A. africanus and A. robustus, indicating an additional hominin taxon may be represented at Sterkfontein West Pit.
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Hawke, David Vivian. "Cavern development in the Malmani Dolomite, Transvaal : the Wolkberg Cave." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/16745.
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Mackie, Lesley K. "A MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF MAXILLARY POST CANINE DENTITION IN AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFRICANUS FROM STERKFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA: ONE SPECIES OR TWO?" 2017. http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses/125.
Full textAbstract:
The objective of this study was to examine whether the premolars and molars found at Sterkfontein Sts Mbr. 4 and StW Mbr. 5 are morphometrically similar to the degree that all individuals could belong to the same species, A. africanus. Mesial-distal (MD) and buccal-lingual (BL) measurements were obtained from maxillary premolars (P3 and P4) and molars (M1, M2, and M3) of Homo, Pan, and Gorilla, and compared to their counterparts attributed to A. africanus from Sterkfontein. Specimen samples were statistically analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. The results support the acceptance of the null hypothesis, indicating that the dental remains from Sts Mbr. 4 and StW Mbr 5 are from the same species.
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Karodia, Shahzaadee. "Naturally mummified remains from Historic Cave, Limpopo, South Africa." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12496.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Science.<br>The ‘Makapan Mummy’ (A1081), the Makapan Child and human and animal remains
with desiccated tissue attached indicate that the environment inside Historic Cave
was dry enough to cause mummification. Environmental studies conducted in 1992
and 2011 suggest that dry air in the well-ventilated cave preserved the soft tissue and
mummified the corpse. The aim of this study is to examine desiccated tissue sampled
from the ‘Makapan Mummy’ (A1081) and from the human remains excavated at
Historic Cave using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive
spectroscopy (EDS) and light microscopy. The morphological features of the
naturally desiccated tissue from Historic Cave were recorded and described using the
microscopic analyses and were then compared to normal and mummified human
tissue. Mummified tissue is hard and dry and often embedded with dust and debris. In
its hard and dry state, mummified tissue needs to be prepared differently to normal
human tissue. In this study, various methods used to clean, rehydrate and stain the
desiccated tissue were investigated and compared. Through this comparative analysis
it was possible to determine the most suitable method for examining desiccated tissue
from Historic Cave. In the SEM analysis, epidermal keratinocytes and vellus hairs
were observed on the surface of the skin tissue. Histological analyses demonstrated
the exclusive preservation of collagen fibres in the muscle tissue, the connective
tissue and the skin tissue. This suggests that the collagen fibres play an integral part
in preserving the structure of desiccated tissue that is devoid of cellular elements. The
results are consistent with the histology of desiccated tissue remains from the
Republic of Korea, Egypt and the Americas.
17
Hardwick, Shannon Kelly. "Botanical analysis of selected historically-occupied cave sites in the Limpopo province, South Africa." Thesis, 2014.
Find full textAbstract:
This study set out to identify and interpret botanical remains from Historic Cave, Balerno Main Shelter and Balerno Shelter 2 in the Limpopo Province. Botanical remains were identified through comparative collections, and quantified through a raw count and presence analysis. They were interpreted through literature on plant uses in southern Africa. Over 12 500 remains were recovered from Historic Cave, almost 1 500 from Balerno Main Shelter and only five from Balerno Shelter 2. Remains from Historic Cave fell into food, water, storage and muti categories of use. Balerno Main Shelter revealed plants in the water and muti categories. Balerno Shelter 2 had too few remains. The study demonstrated that plant remains can shed light on why cave sites were occupied, as the assemblages reflect different plant uses. The remains from Historic Cave describe a society living and taking refuge in a cave under siege. Balerno Main Shelter may have been used for ritual purposes.
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Stratford, Dominic Justin. "A study of newly discovered lithics from earlier Stone Age deposits at Sterkfontein, Gauteng province, South Africa." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/6884.
Full textAbstract:
The need to expand the current lithic Plio-Pleistocene assemblages at Sterkfontein and to understand how these assemblages have been incorporated into the cave deposits is of key importance to archaeological research on the Oldowan and Early Acheulean of South Africa. The greater the archaeological sample size the more accurately inferences can be made regarding the behaviour and technological practices of local hominid groups. An accurate understanding of depositional processes influencing these assemblages allows inferences to be made regarding the post-depositional movement of elements within the assemblage.
The first objective of this research is to expand the assemblages representing the earliest stone tool technologies found at Sterkfontein. The first assemblage researched here is the Dump 21 collection, a small number of artefacts found recently just south of the Sterkfontein Member 5 West breccia and the former Extension Site of John Robinson. This material had been removed from a cave deposit by lime miners and dumped where it was found. This dump may have been created up to a century ago and was concealed by vegetation. The technological attributes exhibited on the cores and flakes of Dump 21 were compared to the current Sterkfontein Early Acheulean of Member 5 West. Parallel patterns in core types and flaking patterns, as well as raw material utilisation, suggest analogous technological intention and therefore identical depositional origins.
The second assemblage analysed here was excavated from the Name Chamber and yielded large quantities of quartz dominated small flaking debris. Comparisons of raw material profiles and technological attributes of artefacts <20mm in size indicate the Name Chamber artefacts originated within the Oldowan assemblage, with a large proportion of <10mm and some <20mm material being winnowed out of the Member 5 East Oldowan breccia at some stage.
The second objective of this research was to more clearly understand the processes involved in the formation of the Name Chamber deposit, examination of the geology and stratigraphy of the Name Chamber was undertaken. Three depositional events have been isolated. The first deposit filled the existing Sterkfontein chambers prior to the opening of the caves to the surface. The second and third deposits have entered the Name Chamber through a shaft that appears to articulate with the deepest portions of the Member 5 East area of the site, forming fauna-rich talus slopes within the chamber. The changing internal structure of this shaft has influenced the size profile and destination of the sediments accumulated in the three current talus deposits fed by the shaft.
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Ryano, Kokeli Peter. "The later Stone Age in the Southern Cape, South Africa, during the terminal pleistocene/early holocene with a focus on Klipdrift cave." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/16835.
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A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, November 2014.<br>My analysis of the lithics, shellfish and tortoise recovered from layers dating to between 11.8 and 9.7 ka at Klipdrift Cave (KDC), De Hoop Nature Reserve, southern Cape, provides new information on the Oakhurst technocomplex. A re-analysis of a sample of lithic artefacts from Matjes River Rock Shelter (MRS) indicates many technological similarities, but also unexpected differences, highlighting the need for detailed contextualised studies that could reveal the complexity of the Oakhurst Industry.
The lithic artefacts were analysed following a typo-technological approach. The KDC Oakhurst shares many characteristics typical of this technocomplex from the southern Cape, for example in the dominance of quartzite, irregular and unstandardized flakes, the occurrence of irregular cores and typical large side and end scrapers. It differs from most coastal Oakhurst sites in the more intensive exploitation of quartz, and the presence of a morphological blade component, especially in the lowermost layers.
Shellfish remains were identified to species level in terms of minimum number of individuals (MNI) and weight. The two main species are Dinoplax gigas, dominating in the lower part of the sequence, between 11.8 and 11.1 ka and Turbo sarmaticus that is more numerous thereafter. These species provide the highest energy yield in terms of kilojoules, estimated at 667 511 kilojoules for both species combined. The species composition at KDC reflects changing environmental conditions that may relate to the effect of the Younger Dryas event, changing from a sheltered sandy bay to a habitat with more exposed rocks and less sand after 11.1 ka. T. sarmaticus opercula, Cymbula oculus shells and tortoise medio-lateral humeri were measured to investigate whether human predation pressure could have affected their size. Although the sizes of T. sarmaticus opercula show some decrease through time suggesting human predation pressure on these molluscs, there is also a possibility that environmental factors may have affected Turbo growth. The tortoise sizes at KDC, and some other Oakhurst sites, are similar to that of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) but the KDC data are
iv
inconclusive on whether intensive harvesting had an effect on average tortoise size.
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Marais, Belinda Sue. "Forensic state patients at Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital: a 3-year follow-up of state patients admitted in 2004 and 2005." Thesis, 2014.
Find full textAbstract:
Forensic psychiatry in South Africa came to be in
the 1970’s following the introduction of the Mental Health Act of
1973 and the Criminal Procedures Act of 1977. Forensic
psychiatric units offer psychiatric observation for defendants
referred from the courts, as well as providing indefinite
detention, for the purpose of treatment and rehabilitation, of
those who have been declared unfit to stand trial and/or not
criminally responsible due to a mental illness or defect. State
patients are mentally ill offenders whose charges involved
serious violence. Ultimately these state patients are released
back into the community. There is a paucity of South African
literature regarding the outcome of state patients.
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Engela, Ronette. "Space, material culture and meaning in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene at Rose Cave Cottage." Thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/22719.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for
the degree or Master of Arts.
Johannesburg, February 1995.<br>This study, based on material excavated at Rose Cottage Cave,
presents a new theoretical perspective for our understanding of the
southern African archaeological record dated to the Pleistocenel
Holocene boundary. Over the past twelve years, : NO contesting
models for interpreting the Pleistocene! Holocene boundary have
been proposed - it has been described as a period of cultural
stasis, on the one hand, or, as exhibiting continuous change, on the
other hand. This study departs from the position that this debate is
at a theoretical impasse.
Through the assumption of a theoretical framework that deals
concurrently with cultural representation and social strategy,
previously unrecognised aspects of the archaeological record are
investigated. t explore the r-ctlve constitutive role of material culture
and thus remove the false dichotomy between cultural form and
functional expediency. In allowing for the active role of human
agency, a model for the interpretation of spatial use is developer,
through the incorporation of the informative and constraining role of
previous spatial patternings. I recognise that meaning is actively
created, and exarnple the spatially and chronolcqlcatlv contingent
nature of meaning through the unique perspective that deep
sequence archaeological deposit offers.<br>MT2017
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Pillay, Anben. "The demographic profile, substance use, competence to stand trial and criminal responsibility among “ Observation Patients” admitted for forensic psychiatric evaluation at Sterkfontein Hospital, Gauteng, South Africa." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/10574.
Full textAbstract:
A review of the literature indicates that young males, who are unemployed with low
levels of education, predominate in populations of pre-trial criminal offenders
suspected of having a psychiatric illness, also known as “Observation Patients”
according to the Criminal Procedures Act of 1977 in South Africa. Other contributory
factors include a history of mental illness and non-compliance on psychiatric
medication, a previous forensic history, co-morbid substance abuse and being
intoxicated at the time of the offence. Dual diagnosis is considered a key contributor
to criminal behaviour in this group of patients. The review of the literature also shows
a significant proportion of co-morbid intellectual disability among offenders found to
be psychiatrically ill at the time of the criminal event. A previous study conducted 20
years earlier, in 1986 at the Sterkfontein Forensic Psychiatric Unit by Vorster (1986)
showed that the typical profile was a single, unemployed, poorly educated male in his
twenties, usually with a history of psychiatric treatment. This typical profile
confirmed the evidence in the literatures at the time of the study.
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Sutton, Morris B. "The archaeology of Swartkrans cave, Gauteng, South Africa: new excavations of members 1 and 4." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12430.
Full textAbstract:
Swartkrans Cave, famous for abundant hominin fossils of P. robustus and the site where the first evidence of the co-existence of two hominin species was recovered, has yielded a wealth of information on early hominin behaviour. In 2005 a new program of research and excavation began at the site, and its results form the central part of this thesis.
This study has focused on the early Pleistocene Member 1 deposits which include an Earlier Stone Age industry and the late Pleistocene Member 4 Middle Stone Age deposits. The thesis has four areas of focus. First the new work has resulted in clarification and new interpretations for the formation of the hominin rich Hanging Remnant deposit of Member 1, which lacks stone tools. This extensive calcified conglomerate which spans most of the north wall of the cave is now seen as a non-homogenous unit that represents material entering from at least four avens. However, this study also established that the newly exposed central portion of the Hanging Remnant and the hominin fossil-rich northwest corner infill worked by Robert Broom in the 1940s derived from the same depositional episode. Secondly, the new excavations in the Lower Bank of Member 1 have resulted in an enlargement of the previously ambiguous Earlier Stone Age assemblage. Analysis of this new assemblage, in conjunction with recently released dating results, has now confirmed that the artefacts belong to the Oldowan Industrial Complex.
Thirdly, new excavations in the Member 4 deposit have resulted in the recovery of over 3,200 Middle Stone Age (MSA) stone tools and a clearer understanding of their context. The stone tool-bearing deposits of Member 4 are now understood to derive from a surface colluvium, rather than a cave infill. This MSA assemblage consists of a high number of retouched pieces that are dominated by steep-sided scrapers and denticulated scrapers with a near-absence of points. The technology of a variety of core types suggests a superior understanding of raw material flaking qualities by the tool makers. The limited types of formal tools suggest that the site was used for one or more specific activities, rather than for a range of activities by the tool makers. Fourthly, excavation of the deposits underlying the Member 4 colluvium has resulted in the discovery of two previously unknown hominin-bearing deposits. It is now established that what was originally called Member 4 is composed of three distinct deposits. The lowest of these is an east extension of the Member 1 Lower Bank (LB East Extension), which has yielded P. robustus fossils. This is overlain by a large talus cone (TCD), which also has yielded P. robustus fossils. The latter is capped by flowstone dated to ~110,000 years, followed by the MSA-tool bearing colluvium.
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Bountalis, Alexandra Clare. "Cave usage and the implications of multiple taphonomic agents on a faunal assemblage." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/12363.
Full textAbstract:
The means in which fossil accumulations in the caves of southern Africa
have formed is of great importance. One method of accumulation is via the
collecting behaviours of a variety of mammalian species. The core of said
behaviour is in the use of caves by these species. This project was
designed to give insight to the way that animals in the Cradle of
Humankind, South Africa are using caves today. The objective of this
research is to give a new understanding to the amount that caves are used
by various taxa in South African cave systems, with particular regard to
taphonomic agents and potential taphonomic agents. This study was
accomplished over a 20-month period by setting up motion sensor
cameras outside of cave entrances at the Malapa Nature Reserve. Results
have shown that animals use caves at high frequencies, crucial to
recognize when examining fossil accumulations.
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Nudelman, Jill. "CONTESTED DOMESTIC SPACES: ANNE LANDSMAN'S "THE DEVIL'S CHIMNEY"." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/1736.
Full textAbstract:
Student Number : 7805464 -
MA dissertation -
School of SLLS -
Faculty of Arts<br>This dissertation interrogates Anne Landsman’s The Devil’s Chimney. The novel
is narrated by the poor-white alcoholic, Connie, who imagines a story about
Beatrice, an English colonist living on a farm in the Little Karoo. Connie, who is
a product of the apartheid era, interweaves her own story with that of Beatrice’s
and, in this way, comes to terms with her own memories, her abusive husband and
the new South Africa.
Connie deploys the genre of magical realism to create a defamiliarised farm
setting for Beatrice’s narrative. She thus challenges the stereotypes associated
with the traditional plaasroman and its patriarchal codes. These codes are also
subverted in Connie’s representation of Beatrice, who contests her identity as the
authoritative Englishwoman, as constructed by colonial discourse. In addition,
Beatrice’s black domestic, Nomsa, is given voice and agency: facilities denied to
her counterparts in colonial and apartheid fiction. Nomsa’s relationship with
Beatrice is also characterised by subversion as it blurs the boundaries between
colonised and coloniser. In this regard, the text demands a postcolonial reading.
Connie, in narrating Beatrice’s and Nomsa’s stories, reinvents their invisible lives
and, by doing so, is able to rewrite herself. In this, she tentatively envisions a
future for herself and also potentially ‘narrates’ the nation, thus contributing to the
new national literature.
The nation is inscribed in the Cango caves, whose spaces witness the seminal
episodes in Beatrice’s narrative. In these events, the caves ‘write’ the female
body and women’s sexuality and the text thus calls for an engagement with
feminism. The caves also inscribe South African history, the Western literary
canon, the imagination and Landsman’s own voice. Hence, the caves assume the
characteristics of a palimpsest. This, together with the metafictive elements of the
novel, invites an encounter with postmodernism.