COPROLITES - Find Out More!

COPROLITES - Find Out More!

What is a coprolite?

(cop-pro-lite)

A coprolite is fossilised poo! Meaning that a few hundred years from now, archaeologists could find YOUR poo and study it! How gross is that?

And why would archaeologists want to study poo, you’re probably going to ask?

What is so special about poo?

Mammals poo, fish poo, birds poo, insects poo…All living creatures eat and so they all poo too. When we eat our bodies turn our food into energy – This is called DIGESTION. The digestive system moves food through our body and any waste leftover comes out as poo. But if everyone poos then why is it so special?

Well, different animals make different kinds of poo and by examining the differences we can tell a lot about an animal’s health, habits, and diet.  We can even learn more about extinct animals – like dinosaurs!

So, it’s not just treasure that archaeologists are interested in finding. It’s scientifically useful to study even underappreciated things – even poo!

Did you know?

Poo isn’t the only waste product from digestion. Some animals, like owls, regurgitate things they can’t digest out of their mouths. This compact ball made of seeds, fur, feathers and tiny bones is known as a PELLET. If you examine it more closely, you can find out exactly what the owl had for dinner (or breakfast…).

You are what you eat!

Coprolites are really useful bits of evidence but because they’re so foul they’re usually politely ignored. For those brave enough to discover their secrets, ancient poo can be investigated in 3 ways:

  1. Macroscopic – Looking at the life-size features of the poo, to work out what animal it came from.
  2. Microscopic – Looking under a microscope at what is in the poo, to work out what has been eaten.
  3. Molecular – Using state-of-the-art technology to look at the chemical make-up of the poo. Minute leftovers like DNA.

 After Shillito et al. 2020

Still curious and want to learn more about Coprolites?

Read our interview with Dr Elenor Greenbiomolecular archaeologist and coprolite expert! 

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