Visiting Researchers from the University of Johannesburg
In early June the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, Human Sciences Department, welcomed University of Johannesburg (UJ) researchers, Professor Marlize Lombard, Dr. Matt Caruana, and Dr. Matt Lotter. The team, from UJ’s Palaeo-Research Institute (P-RI), visited the museum for a week to measure the spear and arrow collections. Their analysis forms part of a larger project implementing a tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) analysis to understand early hunting weapons and projectile technologies. By measuring the lengths, widths, and thicknesses of shafts and tips, they hope to develop a better understanding of the various weapon delivery systems (i.e., darts, javelins, thrusting spears) and accumulate data on standardized weapon morphologies.
Professor Marlize Lombard, Dr. Matt Caruana and Dr. Matt Lotter.
Dr. Caruana measuring the thickness of one of the spear points.
Dr. Lotter measuring the shaft length of the spear.
