Pathoecology and the Future of Coprolite Studies in Bioarchaeology

TLDR: Bryant et al. as discussed by the authors found that the majority of coprolites are usually fragmented, flattened by age, or in many cases are preserved as amorphous masses of various sizes similar in shape to " paddies " left behind by cattle.

Abstract: COPROLITE STUDIES IN BIOARCHAEOLOGY Human coprolites currently provide an expanding array of information about the diet, health, and ecology of prehistoric people in the Southwest, but for many years coprolites were not recognized or preserved, or they were not considered important and thus were not saved (Bryant and Dean 2006). With the expansion of archaeological field work during the last half of the twentieth century archaeologists have increasingly explored the " complete " potentials of sites, including the collection and analysis of geomorphologic, botanical, and faunal data. In some ideal habitats (e.g., very dry or frozen) this includes exploring the scientific potential of human coprolite studies. This is not easy to do: very few coprolites have what might be considered a " characteristic shape and size. " In our experience, the majority of coprolites are usually fragmented, flattened by age, or in many cases are preserved as amorphous masses of various sizes similar in shape to " paddies " left behind by cattle. These flat, amorphous human coprolites are especially common in sites used by foragers with diets very high in plant fiber. Coprolites and coprolite fragments are sometimes collected in situ during archaeological excavations, but most often they are found during screening, when dirt is being separated from artifacts. If unrecognized, coprolites may be crushed into dust, along with clods of dirt, and their contents lost. In the American Southwest the arid climate, protected sites, and dry rock shelters provide some of our best areas in North America for the preservation of human coprolites and the long record of biological history they help to reveal. Starting in the early 1960s with the pioneering efforts of Eric Callen (1963) and Martin and Sharrock (1964), but especially in the seventies and eighties, coprolites were the focus of many interdisciplinary research A large number of articles, chapters, and monographs were published as a result of this early As summarized by Reinhard and Bryant (1992) these works explored the application of many fields to coprolite analysis including archaeopalynology, archaeobotany, archaeoparasitology, zooarchaeology, biochemistry, starch analysis, and phytolith analysis. (Phytoliths are microscopic mineral deposits produced by plants within their cells. Phytoliths are extremely durable and their morphologies are frequently specific to family, genus, and even species.) Each research project offered new methodological innovations and several salient works came from this period. Williams-Dean's dissertation (1978) was a milestone in combining studies of modern feces with the …