Human excrements and especially the soft matter, in the rare cases they have survived, are of great importance. They can be conceived only under marginal conditions and generally if the action of microorganisms has been prevented. Relevant finds supply information regarding the nutritional habits, diseases, hygiene practice and overall cultural level. Tine coprolites (petrified excrements) are restored to their original form through a specific technical analysis and then they are examined in order to find what food was consumed by the Prehistoric man. As a result ,vegetable and animal remnants are identified and through them the natural environment, the age of animals, the ripening of fruits, the mode of food preparation, the season of consumption as well as the economy and the general environment is revealed. Coproliths are remnants significant to Archaeology, since they offer one more approach for knowing and studying the human past.
The study of coproliths
21 Aug 2012
by Archaeology Newsroom
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