Abstract
Coprolites (fossilized faeces) can provide valuable insights into species’ diet and related habits. In archaeozoological contexts, they are a potential source of information on human-animal interactions as well as human and animal subsistence. However, despite a broad discussion on coprolites in archaeology, such finds are rarely subject to detailed examination by researchers, perhaps due to the destructive nature of traditional analytical methods. Here, we have examined coprolitic remains from the Neolithic (third millennium BCE) settlement at Skara Brae, Orkney, using a range of modern methods: X-ray computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy, lipid and protein analysis (shotgun proteomics of the coprolite matrix as well as collagen peptide mass fingerprinting of isolated bone fragments). This combined approach minimised destructiveness of sampling, leaving sufficient material for subsequent study, while providing more information than traditional morphological examination alone. Based on gross visual examination, coprolites were predominantly attributed to domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), with morphologically identified bone inclusions derived from domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and common voles (Microtus arvalis). Partial dissection of a coprolite provided bone samples containing protein markers akin to those of domestic sheep. Considering the predominance of vertebral and distal limb bone fragments, Skara Brae dogs were probably consuming human butchery or meal refuse, either routinely fed to them or scavenged. The presumably opportunistic consumption of rodents may also have played a role in pest control.
Highlights
A serious concern when using finite remains to study the past is the destructive nature of many widely adopted methods
The external shape of the coprolites from Skara Brae correlates with mid-size canid species
Diedrich’s hyaena typology, the larger Skara Brae coprolites that were sampled for μCT are identified as form A, C and D (Fig. 1a)
Summary
A serious concern when using finite remains to study the past is the destructive nature of many widely adopted methods. Coprolites are a prime example of this problem Beyond examination of their external appearance and the identification of visible parts of inclusions, the predominant method used to analyse coprolites involves dissection, usually after dissolving (“rehydrating”) the coprolite matrix in a specific solution (Callen 1963), or dry-pulverizing its contents (Heizer 1963), in order to isolate and visually identify any inclusions. Such approaches narrow the retrievable data strictly to the inclusions and preclude further examination, for example of the internal arrangement of the coprolite content or its chemical composition. Many sites provide only a sparse number of coprolites, often as singular finds, and the potential loss of information is too important for a dissection method to be applied
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