The Coprolites of Man
About: This article is published in Scientific American.The article was published on 1975-01-01. It has received 80 citations till now.
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TL;DR: The transition from the Pleistocene to the Mesolithic was analyzed in broad ecological terms as discussed by the authors, and it is shown that the diversification of the resource base reached a maximum in a number of areas, and increased diversity could only be achieved by devising efficient means to exploit r-selected types of resources.
Abstract: The transition from Pleistocene to Archaic/Mesolithic is analyzed in broad ecological terms. The trend throughout most of the Pleistocene toward increasing technological diversity is linked to the expectable ecological tendency to increase resource reliability. The advent of culture enabled man to increase resource reliability by diversifying his resource base. Resources were largely of the K-selected type, economical to procure with simple technology but generally subject to overexploitation. By the end of the Pleistocene the diversification of the resource base had reached a maximum in a number of areas, and increased diversity could only be achieved by devising efficient means to exploit r-selected types of resources. It is this shiff in emphasis that characterizes the Archaic/Mesolithic. This change resulted in increases in sedentism, population density, and competition; occupation of new habitats; diversification of resource use in low-resource-density areas and specialization of resource use in area...
165 citations
01 Jan 1992
151 citations
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...Coprolite research has expanded to include study of phytoliths (Bryant 1974a; Bryant and Williams-Dean 1975; Reinhard 1985a), mycology (Reinhard 1985b; Reinhard et al. 1989)) acarology (Kliks 1988), microbiology (Stiger 1977; Williams-Dean 1978), nutrition (Reinhard 1988b; Reinhard, Jones, and…...
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...The recovery of Agave fibers, plant leaf epidermis, and phytoliths in coprolites demonstrates that the thick basal bulbs of the Agave plant and the bases of individual leaves were eaten (Bryant 1974a; Bryant and Williams-Dean 1975; Reinhard 1988b; Sobolik 1988a)....
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TL;DR: It is clear that prehistoric peoples in the Americas were host to a variety of human parasites, some of which were not previously thought to be present before historic times.
Abstract: The study of prehistoric parasitism through analysis of coprolites, mummies, skeletons, and latrine soils is rapidly growing. Its development in North America is interdisciplinary and is derived from the fields of physical anthropology, parasitology, and archaeology. The various parasite finds from North America are reviewed. The data show that prehistoric peoples in North America suffered from a variety of parasitic diseases. The validity of the findings are then considered. Although most finds of parasites from prehistoric contexts result from human infections, some finds cannot be verified as such. However, in combination with data from South America, it is clear that prehistoric peoples in the Americas were host to a variety of human parasites, some of which were not previously thought to be present before historic times.
146 citations
TL;DR: Relevant signatures of bone damage, skeletal survivorship, taxonomic composition, and context are examined in assemblages produced and modified through accidental non-predator-related death, predator accumulation, and postmortem alteration.
Abstract: The analysis of microvertebrate remains recovered from buried contexts is frequently problematic for archaeologists. Diminutive size is a major obstacle to recovering, identifying, and interpreting microfaunal bone materials successfully. Their taphonomic history is often obscure, thus the significance of microvertebrate accumulations for settlement, subsistence, and ecological interpretation is difficult to evaluate. Recognizable and reliable archaeological signatures are sought for assessing the effect of taphonomic history on microvertebrate assemblages. Relevant signatures of bone damage, skeletal survivorship, taxonomic composition, and context are examined in assemblages produced and modified through accidental non-predator-related death, predator accumulation, and postmortem alteration.
142 citations
TL;DR: The most probable completeness of a given sedimentary section at a given short time span can be calculated by the ratio of the measured longterm rate of sediment accumulation to the expected short-term rate.
Abstract: Surprisingly, there is a relationship between rates of sediment accumulation and the time spans for which they have been calculated. This relationship can be used to estimate expected rates for specific sedimentary environments and time spans. The most probable completeness of a given sedimentary section at a given short time span can be calculated by the ratio of the measured long-term rate of sediment accumulation to the expected short-term rate. Although the measured time span is usually based on radiometric and paleomagnetic data, the cumulative time of formation estimated from fossil soils in a sequence may also be used to calculate rates and may be useful in comparing the completeness and rate of accumulation of different sequences. By both kinds of estimates, terrestrial sedimentary successions are disappointingly incomplete. Some reasons for incompleteness are illustrated with a simple model of episodic flooding, exceeding a threshold for destruction and sedimentation over a particular kind of vegetation, and thus initiating a new cycle of soil formation. In such a model, rock record is lost to erosion during cutting and filling cycles, to overprinting of weakly developed soils by later, better-developed soils, and to continued development, near steady state, of the soils preserved. Because fossil soils are evidence of ancient environments and ecosystems independent of the fossil record, they may provide evidence of expected kinds of fossils, such as silica phytoliths, calcareous phytoliths, pollen, leaves, fruits, seeds, charcoal, land snails, coprolites, and bones. The degree to which the kinds of fossils actually found fail to meet these expectations is a crude measure of the completeness of representation of a former ecosystem in the fossil record. Some of the discrepancy between expected and actual occurrence of fossils can be related to the original Eh and pH of a fossil soil, as approximated by the oxidation state of iron in its minerals (for Eh) and by carbonate or zeolite content (for pH). Different kinds of fossils can be envisaged as having a characteristic Eh-pH stability field within which they can be expected to have been preserved if originally present. Even under ideal conditions of preservation, it takes some time for fossils to accumulate in soils to levels at which representative collections can be made. Estimates of this temporal control on preservation can be gained by comparing fossil occurrences with the degree of devel- opment of fossil soils. Neither these chemical nor temporal factors account fully for the degree of incom- pleteness observed because original abundance, trampling, predation and many other factors are also important determinants of fossil occurrence. These considerations can be used as guidelines for choosing stratigraphic sections appropriate for par- ticular paleobiological and geological problems. For example, a study of speciation of terrestrial vertebrates would best be in a sequence of weakly developed, calcareous fossil soils (Entisols and Inceptisols), of near- uniform texture and yellow to brown color, formed under an extraordinarily high long-term rate of sediment accumulation. On the other hand, a study of coevolution of vertebrates and plants would best be based on a sequence of weakly to moderately developed, calcareous fossil soils of predominantly drab (gray, green, and blue) color, with interbedded carbonaceous shales.
132 citations