In 1999, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) initiated the development of the Nandoni Dam. A component of this project was the relocation of seven rural villages, which include Mulenzhe, Budeli, Dididi, Mpego, Machivandihala Agricultural College, Mutoti and Tshilangoma. Upon request from the community, DWAF had to provide for the exhumation of approximately 1,000 graves dating to the 20th century. A comprehensive analysis of the 160 skeletons (118 adults and 42 juveniles) found in association with these graves was performed, and a description of the health and disease patterns of these rural communities was provided. A secondary objective of this study was to assess the biological affinity of the Venda by examining both craniometric and odontometric traits. A demographic profile of these communities revealed a high incidence of death in children less than 5 years of age and medium ranged adult mortality that peaked between 45 and 55 years of age. This profile is similar to other contemporary black South African communities, and has been associated with poverty, poor living conditions and poor sanitation. When compared to Iron Age populations, it was noted that a dramatic decline in child mortality and a slight increase in adult longevity has occurred in black South African populations within the past 800 years. This may be associated with a reduction in the number of children born per mother and general improvements in lifestyle and living conditions. Medical researchers suggest that infectious disease and parasite infestation were high in rural Venda communities during the 20th century. Despite the high pathogen load in the environment, skeletal markers of non-specific diseases in this study were found to be minimal. This may be attributed to the administering of medication at both hospitals and local clinics, which would have arrested the development of diseases caused by bacteria and parasites. Overall, it appears that medicine improved health for the individual, but it was relatively ineffective on reducing the number of pathogens in the general environment. Dental health was relatively good for these communities. Tooth decay was more common in Venda than other agricultural based populations and may be related to the increased consumption of western foods such as refined maize and sugar. The results of uni- and multivariate statistical analyses on the craniometric and odontometric traits are indicative of a stronger relationship between the Venda and South African Negroid populations than the East Africa groups. This supports the idea of local development of the Venda people in the Soutpansberg region. These results are also in agreement with other studies that have shown similarities in cranial and dental morphology of South African Negroids with the Venda. Due to the small sample size from K2, it was not possible to establish a direct relationship between this group and the Venda. However, it is prudent to say that both groups can be classified as South African Negroids. / Thesis (DPhil)-University of Pretoria, 2005 / Anatomy / unrestricted

Frontal sinus variation has been used in forensic anthropology to aid in positive identification since the 1920s. As radiographic technology has evolved, so has the quality and quantity of data that radiologists and anthropologists can collect during an individual’s lifetime. This has led to new methodology when comparing antemortem and postmortem radiographic images. The current study aims to look at frontal sinus morphology and dimensional variations on computed tomography (CT) scans, as these are currently the most commonly collected images showing the frontal sinus in its entirety used in clinics in the United States. This study assessed 307 individuals for the morphological analysis and 325 individuals in the dimensional analysis. These individuals represented females and males from Asian, African, European, and Latin American derived groups. It is hypothesized that frontal sinus shape variations will cluster based on assigned sex and population affinities. Similarly, it is hypothesized that dimensional variation, specifically the maximum height, maximum width, and maximum depth, will show statistically significant clustering based on assigned sex and population affinities. The frontal sinus outlines from the CT images were transferred into SHAPE v1.3 in order to run an elliptical Fourier analysis. The dimensional data was measured directly from the images using a MicroDicom viewer. All of the statistical analyses, including Pearson’s Chi-squared and ANOVA tests, were run in R studio. Results indicated that morphologically there is no statistically significant clustering based on assigned sex or population affinity. However, there was statistically significant clustering dimensionally when tested against both assigned sex and population affinity using an ANOVA, indicating that the interactive effects of sexual dimorphism and population affinity influence the dimensions but not the shape of the frontal sinus. These results add to the foundational knowledge that practitioners have surrounding frontal sinus indicating that assigned sex and population affinity have impact on the approximate dimensions of this structure while these variables do not have a statistically significant effect on morphological variation. The results also speak to the idiosyncratic nature of the frontal sinus and bolster confidence using morphological variations as a mean to individuate.

One major area of forensic science is to provide identifications of previously unidentifiable individuals. Many of these techniques rely on the accurate interpretation of the morphology of the facial form. An individual's facial form is the result of a complex interaction of their genetic ancestry and the many environmental factors they are exposed to throughout their lives. Facial studies to date have primarily focused on single populations, or on comparing different populations residing in different areas. Very few have looked at the relationships between the facial forms of different populations living in the same area of individuals of mixed population ancestry. In this study the facial morphology of 431 West Australian young adults was analysed, and the relationship between their self reported population affinity and their facial form investigated. The impact of factors such as sexual dimorphism and body mass on facial form were also considered. The relationship between the facial morphology of individuals of mixed population heritage and their parent populations was studied, as was the effect that migration can have on facial form. Strong relationships between self-reported population affinity and facial form were demonstrated over the range of populations in the study. Sex and body mass were seen to have an impact on the morphology of the face; but they did not eclipse the influence of the genetic population affinity. Individuals with ancestry derived from more than one population were seen to resemble one population over another in different areas of the face rather than demonstrating an equal combination of both parent populations. A migration effect was seen in the facial forms of even the first generation offspring of migrants.