How do bodies decompose? Cape Town forensic scientists are pushing frontiers of new detection methods

Cape Town has consistently been one of the metropolitan regions in South Africa with the highest murder rates. It has more than double the national average, and is currently ranked second overall and 16th worldwide. Many victims are discovered only after their bodies have decomposed, burned, or been exposed to the elements. That makes identification […]

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Ancient human DNA from a South African rock shelter sheds light on 10,000 years of history

Oakhurst rock shelter is an archaeological site near the town of George on the southern coast of South Africa. It is set into a sandstone cliff above a stream in a valley forested by towering old yellowwood trees. Archaeologists first started excavating Oakhurst in the 1930s. What makes the site special is the record of […]

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