Taphonomic and methodological problems in reconstructing prehistoric diet from ancient human gut and faecal remains
The study of ancient human gut and faecal residues can provide some of the most reliable data relating to past diet. However, as with other forms of archaeological data it suffers from serious taphonomic bias, with some classes of food being well represented and others only poorly. This project attempts to identify more clearly where some of these biases lie, particularly with respect to the matter of differential digestion. In order to achieve this, a series of experiments relating to digestion in modern humans and the survival of different food items through the digestive tract, have been carried out. The knowledge gained during this study of modern material has then been applied to three separate classes of ancient human gut and faecal remains a) desiccated human gut contents from a number of locations in South America; b) waterlogged human gut contents from a number of European bog bodies; c) discrete, desiccated human palaeofaeces (coprolites) recovered from midden on the Northern Chilean site of Tulan 54. The food debris from these samples have been accurately identified and quantified and interpretations made regarding past dietary practices. In the case of the coprolites from Tulan, North Chile, it
Holden, Timothy G.
Taphonomic and methodological problems in reconstructing prehistoric diet from ancient human gut and faecal remains. The study of ancient human gut and faecal residues can provide some of the most reliable data relating to past diet. However, as with other forms of archaeological data it suffers from serious taphonomic bias, with some classes of food being well represented and others only poorly. This project attempts to identify more clearly where some of these biases lie, particularly with respect to the matter of differential digestion. In order to achieve this, a series of experiments relating to digestion in modern humans and the survival of different food items through the digestive tract, have been carried out. The knowledge gained during this study of modern material has then been applied to three separate classes of ancient human gut and faecal remains a) desiccated human gut contents from a number of locations in South America; b) waterlogged human gut contents from a number of European bog bodies; c) discrete, desiccated human palaeofaeces (coprolites) recovered from midden on the Northern Chilean site of Tulan 54. The food debris from these samples have been accurately identified and quantified and interpretations made regarding past dietary practices. In the case of the coprolites from Tulan, North Chile, it
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