The history and composition of the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

The Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons (Dart Collection) is housed in the School of Anatomical Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and comprises one of the largest documented cadaver-derived human skeletal assemblages in the world. This collection originated in the early 1920s as a result of the efforts of Raymond Dart and continues to grow. The skeletons included represent varied indigenous and immigrant populations from southern Africa, Europe and Asia. This contribution documents the history of the collection and provides an updated inventory and demographic assessment of this valuable research collection. According to a recent inventory the Dart Collection currently comprises 2,605 skeletons representing individuals from regional SA African (76%), White (15%), Coloured (4%) and Indian (0.3%) populations. A large proportion of the skeletons (71%) represent males. The recorded ages at death range from the first year to over 100 years of age, but the majority of individuals died between the ages of 20 and 70. The Dart Collection has been affected by collection procedures based on availability. All of the cadavers collected before 1958, and large proportions subsequently, were derived from unclaimed bodies in regional South African hospitals. Some details of documentation (age at death, population group) are estimates and some aspects of the collection demographics (sex ratios) do not closely reflect any living South African population. Our inventory and analysis of the Dart Collection is aimed to assist researchers planning research on the materials from this collection.

An evaluation of nasal bone and aperture shape among three South African populations

“…The Pretoria Bone and Raymond A. Dart Collections are cadaver-based and contain 19 th and 20 th century skeletons of known age, sex and population group -the majority of which are black and white [16,17]. In contrast, the Kirsten collection, which is also cadaver-based and of known age and sex, primarily contains coloureds.…”

Composition of the Kirsten Skeletal Collection at Stellenbosch University

“…The skeletal profile in general, despite differences in the age and sex composition of three population groups, reflects predominantly the profile of the Western Cape population. The Kirsten Skeletal Collection is unique compared to other known skeletal collections in South Africa 1,[3][4][5] in that the majority of the individuals are from the heterogeneous South African coloured population. …”

“…Current research using human skeletal collections includes developing new techniques to test and standardise regional-specific data regarding osteometric measurements and physical observations. [1][2][3][4][5] These reference points provide practical information for the estimation of biological profiles of unknown skeletons 6 in both forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology, including estimation of age, sex and stature. Detailed descriptions of skeletal remains of known populations are used to confirm or contradict archaeological and social theories for past and present communities.…”

Longitudinal and contemporaneous manganese exposure in apartheid-era South Africa: Implications for the past and future

“…The predominant demographic within the collection is black males. This is largely to do with both overall demographic patterns within South Africa (Byerlee, 1974;L'Abbe et al, 2005;Smit, 2001 (Dayal et al, 2009). Only 12 of the femora included in this study are from the Dart collection.…”