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This blog offers images, text, questions, and other forms of inquiry and discovery as a way in which our friends might learn about the fascinating African country of Swaziland. The study of material culture, that is, anything made or shaped by humans, is our chosen method of investigation. And, because James will be with us this time around, it is also about human evolution.
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Ex Africa semper aliquid novi
There is always something new out of Africa.
Pliny the Elder
Read more about this in the attached article from National Geographic, which highlights the work of two professors from our local university (and our alma mater) Southern Connecticut State University. Professors Harvey Feinberg and Joseph Solodow traced the origins of this ancient phrase back more than 2,000 years!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0219_030219_outofafrica.html
Pliny the Elder
Read more about this in the attached article from National Geographic, which highlights the work of two professors from our local university (and our alma mater) Southern Connecticut State University. Professors Harvey Feinberg and Joseph Solodow traced the origins of this ancient phrase back more than 2,000 years!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0219_030219_outofafrica.html
Map of Swaziland
Thank You to our friends
- Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation
- Celentano Museum Academy
- Fulbright Program for Africa
- Swaziland National Museum
- The U.S. State Department
- VSA/Young Audiences of Connecticut
- Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
The Teaching Crew
- P. James Macaluso, Jr., Ph.D.
- Karen Morgan
- David Heiser, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
- Kellie Kiel, 5th Grade Teacher, Celentano Museum Academy
- Laura A. Macaluso, Fulbright Scholar, Swaziland National Museum, 2008-2009
- Judith Mortensen, Artist/Arts Administrator, VSA/Young Audiences of CT
Students
- Jaren Morgan
- Liam Morgan
- Mayla Morgan
- Ms. Kiel's 5th grade class, CMA
- Oliver Morgan
special thanks
- Marjorie Balarin, U.S. Embassy, Swaziland
- Cindy Brandl, RN, Passport Health
- Stanley Dlamini, Swaziland National Museum
- Debra Egan, Kelly Makowiecki and Matthew Fortier, Council for the International Exchange of Scholars
- Jeffrey Nichols, Director, Mark Twain House & Museum
Blog Archive
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2010
(22)
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February
(12)
- Documenting Human Remains
- "House on Fire" and Maladela's are a complex of a...
- Swazi animals of various shapes and sizes
- Modern and Old Swazi Clay Pots
- The stick man dances at Mantenga!
- James and Dem Bones
- Why Study Bones?
- Having fun at Mantenga Cultural Village
- RIP Pinky Tuscadero
- A plethora of pap! Friday was the opening of Parli...
- Summer Swazi Landscape
- Closed fish market
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February
(12)
6 comments:
So, James, what have your learned so far about "dem bones"? It appears from the picture that they are small. Do you have an entire skeleton?
I haven´t learned much yet as I have been busy cleaning them first. The bones still have dirt and in some cases small roots attached. It appears that the first two boxes, which I have washed, contain the remains of a single, older individual. The skeleton is quite complete, including most of the skull, mandible (lower jaw) and teeth, arm and leg bones, ribs, vertebrae, part of the pelvis, and a few hand and foot bones.
Very interesting, James. Is that the procedure? To clean, then "lay out" in some sort of order to label all? How does a scientist determine sex, age (not only of individual)but from how long ago? Do you ever use any chemicals or solutions of some sort to determine facts?
Yes, it is standard procedure to clean the bones first. Obviously if they are dirty it is hard to see the morphology (or what the bones look like). Once the bones are cleaned, I have been identifying the bones (such as leg femur) and developing an inventory which listed exactly what is present. This inventory will then be added to the database that Laura is developing for the cultural collections, such as pottery. In later postings I hope to show some of the techniques we use to determine age, sex, etc.
Looks very neat and organize, over newspaper sheets!
why are some bones so white and others so dark? where they buried in different areas?
Good question. Some of the color difference is due to the cleaning process: some of them may be drier (and thus lighter in color) than others. All of the bones come from the same location as far as we have been able to determine. But, it is possible that the different discoloration may also be due to some preservation differences. For example, maybe a few of the bones were explosed to the sun for a longer period of time, which tends to bleach or lighten bones. Laura and I hope to go out and find the location where the remains were uneathed ten years ago to find out more.
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