Abstracts - University of Indianapolis Archeology & Forensics ...

has provided a valuable assessment of the nature of information contained in museum collections and
its potential in osteological and archeological research.
(16) MENSFORTH, Robert, & G. BAKER. "Auditory Exostoses: Potential Value of A
Phenotypic Skeletal Response for Inferring Aspects of Subsistence Behavior and Health."
This study examines within and between group differences in the frequencies of auditory exostoses
(AEs) among a series of four Late Archaic groups from Kentucky. AEs are induced by thermal injury
associated with episodes of could water exposure. Results show that adult males exhibit significantly
greater frequencies of AEs compared to females in all groups examined, and that inland bluff site
groups exhibit much lower frequencies of AEs compared to shell midden site. These results are
discussed with respect to (1) seasonality and sex-specificity of mollusk gathering activities, and (2)
their implications for inferring increased sedentism and territorial behaviors among Late Archaic
peoples.
(17) MORRIS, Alan. "The Cobern Street Cemetery: The Excavation of a Historic Slave
Graveyard in Cape Town, South Africa."
The exposure of an 18th century cemetery in downtown Cape Town in October 1994 was followed
by an extensive rescue archeological excavation over the December-January period. A team of
volunteers excavated over 65 formal burials in 108 square meters of deposit. Nearly all of the burials
were extended on their back and in wooden coffins. A few of the deeper skeletons (perhaps earlier in
time) were without coffins and were laid on their side. Two Late Stone Age (LSA) graves were
identified from below the level of the cemetery. These were "sitting" Khoikhoi burials with LSA
pottery and lots of animal bone and shell in attendance. Each of these two LSA graves was a double
burial, a phenomenon rarely seen in prehistoric burials in South Africa. Radiocarbon dates indicate a
date a burial around 1000 years ago, indicating that these graves are unrelated to the historic cemetery
above them.
Although the precise date of the cemetery or an identification of who was buried there remains
uncertain, the excavations yielded a rich variety of grave goods which points to both the date and
identity of the occupants. All of the associated material is 18th century in origin, primarily from the
second half of that century. The grave goods included whole tobacco pipes and smoking
paraphernalia, brass and silver buttons, and an ornate silver box. The last date of burial is hinted at by
the presence of a 1797 British penny located just above one of the burials. The fact that no reference
to the graves is mentioned in the Cape Archives seems to indicate that the people buried here were
probably slaves or other people toward the bottom of the hierarchy of 18th century Cape society.
Archival work is continuing on the history of the site. Physical anthropological analysis of the
skeletons is now underway and preliminary results should be available by early 1997.
(18) MORRIS, Alan. "Ethnic Identity and the Re-Burial Issue in South Africa: The Cases of
Saartje and Hintza."
Recent claims for the return of the remains of Saartje Baartman to South Africa from the Musee de
L'Homme in Paris, and the search in Scotland for the cranium of the Zhosa chief Hintza have
highlighted the importance of human remains and the issue of reburial to people in the 'new' South
Africa. Baartman's case has been taken up by the Griqua National Congress which is trying to forge a
new ethnic identity for the Griqua, encompassing the early historic Khoikhoi and all living people who
BARFAA Abstracts 1996 -- page 4 of 8