Hi Philip;

*Very* interesting about being able to study fossilized coprolites! I've 
never heard about that. It would be interesting to see content data from any 
study.....after a little googling I found these:

From http://www.mcmaster.ca/research/sciencecity/globe-article_poinar.htm
."It's one of the biggest crap deposits known," says Vaughn Bryant, an 
anthropologist at Texas A&M University who led the excavation of the Hinds 
Cave deposit in the mid-1970s and provided Dr. Poinar with the samples.

The cave, an enormous, very dry, cliff-face rock shelter, housed generations 
of hunter-gatherers for 9,000 years. The site has yielded more than 2,000 
cow-patty-shaped human coprolites.

The shape of these coprolites is due to the "astronomical" amounts of fibre 
in them, Dr. Bryant says. He estimates that the Hinds Cave inhabitants ate 
15 times the daily fibre intake of present-day North Americans, mostly in 
the form of roasted desert plants, including agave and yucca.

Using mitochondrial DNA analysis, Dr. Poinar showed that three coprolites 
belonged to separate individuals. And he confirmed Dr. Bryant's microscopic 
analysis of the contents: These paleo-peoples were eating well.

Through genetic reconstruction, he showed that in the 24 to 48 hours before 
relieving himself at the back of the shelter, one Hinds Cave resident had 
eaten a veritable Thanksgiving feast. The coprolite included evidence of 
pronghorn antelope, cottontail rabbit, packrat, squirrel and eight types of 
wild plants.

* * *

http://www.scirpus.ca/dung/human.htm

Callen, E. O., and T. W. M. Cameron 1960
A Prehistoric Diet Revealed in Coprolites. The New Scientist 18(1, 7 
July):35-40.
AEU SCI Q 1 N53 A classic paper; the beginning of scientific analysis of 
coprolites. Reports on the examination of coprolites from Huaca Prieta, 
Peru. Describes techniques used to rehydrate and examine coprolites. Shows 
that diet contained sea- food (shellfish, crabs, sea urchin) which was a 
major dietary component; not surprising for a site in a coastal location. 
Found seed of Capsicum (pepper), probably chili, also remains of beans 
(epidermal cells), identified as Phaseolus (green beans or lima beans) and 
Canavalia. Suggest that whole bean pods were eaten fresh. Some plant tissue 
identified as from cucurbit (squash); rinds and seeds were found in 
archaeological context. Long discussion as to what part of the squash was 
eaten; some authorities believe that only the seeds were roasted and eaten 
not the flesh. Perhaps some evidence of roots and tubers, as fibres were 
also found in coprolites. Reports on the abdominal contents of skeletonised 
body found in the deposits. Evidence for a varied diet including plant and 
sea-food; shows that more than one food type was consumed at a meal. 
Examined samples for parasite remains, found possible Diphyllobothrium 
(tapeworm) eggs in one sample. (31/03/2002).

Dickson, J. H., K. Oeggl, T. G. Holden, L. L. Handley, T. C. O'Connell, and 
T. Preston 2000
The Omnivorous Tyrolean Iceman: Colon Contents (Meat, Cereals, Pollen, Moss 
and Whipworm) and Stable Isotope Analyses. Philosophical Transactions of the 
Royal Society London, Series B 355(29th December):1843-1849.
Written to refute conclusions of other studies (which were based on isotopic 
composition of hair samples) that the diet of the Iceman was primarily 
vegetarian. This paper describes the remains recovered from the colon 
contents, which include meat remains, bran, cereal, plant remains, Trichuris 
(whipworm) eggs, and also pollen. Pollen includes that from hophornbeam 
(Ostrya carpinifolia) and hazel (Corylus avellana). It is possible that 
these were ingested through drinking water, and implies a spring/early 
summer time of death rather than autumn as implied by previous work.

Farrell, N. 1988
Chapter 10: Analysis of Human Coprolites from CA-RIV-1179 and CA-RIV-2827. 
In Archaeological Investigations at CA-RIV-1179, CA-RIV-2823, and 
CA-RIV-2827, La Quinta, Riverside County, California, edited by M. Q. Sutton 
and P. J. Wilke, pp. 129-142. Archives of California Prehistory, Number 20. 
Coyote Press, Salinas, California, USA.
Human coprolites, 128 specimens, some fragmentary, were recovered from 
CA-RIV-1179. Chapter reports on analysis of 30 of them. Also included 3 
human coprolites from CA- RIV-2827. Most abundant plant material was cattail 
(Typha spp.) in 21 samples from CA-RIV-1179, especially anthers. Cattail 
pollen may have been being consumed, as is reported in the ethnographic 
literature. Most other seed types were present in only trace amounts in a 
few specimens. Considerable amounts of fish remains were found. Fish bone 
(not all identifiable) was found in all 30 specimens from CA-RIV-1179. Most 
common taxon was Colorado River bonytail chub (Gila elegans) in 12 specimens 
from CA- RIV-1179. Some specimens also yielded mammal, tortoise, and reptile 
bone fragments. Very few food items apparently consumed. May indicate that 
sites were seasonal camps. (13/07/2006) .

Fry, G. F. 1977
Analysis of Prehistoric Coprolites from Utah. University of Utah 
Anthropological Papers Number 97. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, 
Utah, USA xi + 45 pp..
AEU HSS E 51 USS No 097 Two of the sites discussed are in NW Utah, west and 
north of the Great Salt Lake (Danger Cave and Hogup Cave). The third 
locality is Glen Canyon along the Colorado River, in SE Utah. These are rock 
shelter sites, and 15 are included in this study. Glen Canyon sites are 
mostly Fremont and Anasazi (around 2000 yr BP to 700 yr BP). All coprolites 
examined are thought to be of human origin. Report includes description of 
methods used for rehydration (using trisodium phosphate solution), screening 
and counting (pp. 7-9) for diet studies and a procedure for extracting 
parasites. Some coprolites were subsampled for pollen; these are the samples 
reported by Kelso (1970).
     Results from Hogup and Danger Caves show essentially similar 
subsistence for millennia. Main component is chenopod seed (Allenrolfea 
occidentalis, pickleweed). Fremont and Shoshoni samples show slight 
increased utilisation of Gramineae seed. Opuntia remains are also common 
throughout. Usually the pads would have been eaten, with the spines singed 
off first. Compares results with ethnohistoric evidence from the area. 
Coprolites show evidence that small mammals were eaten and finely divided 
plant material suggests that stomach contents of large herbivores were also 
consumed (in Fremont samples). Grit shows that seeds were probably ground 
before being consumed.


Poinar, H. N., M. Kuch, K. D. Sobolik, I. Barnes, A. B. Stankiewicz, and T. 
Kuder (and W. G. Spaulding, V. M. Bryant, A. Cooper, S. Pääbo) 2001
A Molecular Analysis of Dietary Diversity for Three Archaic Native 
Americans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98(8):4317- 4322.
Examined three coprolites from Hinds Cave (Texas). Amplified DNA sequences 
from them and matched against database of known samples for plants and 
animals. Samples were AMS dated; all yielded dates falling in range 2100 - 
2400 yr BP. Checked to see if samples of human origin by examining 
mitochondrial DNA; results showed a good match with contemporary Native 
America mtDNA, also indicated that samples were from three different people. 
Wide range of plant families identified including Liliales, Asteraceae, 
Ulmaceae, Fagaceae, Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Fouquieriaceae, and Rhamnaceae. 
Examination of plant macroremains in samples showed Liliaceae, Fabaceae, and 
Ulmaceae. Interestingly, these also shows remains of Cactaceae, which was 
not found in DNA analysis. Animal sequences showed match to Ovis (sheep), 
pronghorn, and cottontail rabbit. Macroremains analysis showed remains of 
small mammals and fish; perhaps large mammals not identified because meat, 
not bone, consumed, so their macroremains not found in coprolites. Results 
showed a varied and diverse diet. Diet included hackberry, sunflower family, 
yucca or agave, opuntia, oak, legume family, nightshade family, ocotillo, 
buckthorn family, and meat from at least pronghorn, rabbit, bighorn sheep, 
packrat, squirrel, fish, and cottontail. Each sample contained a variety of 
food types. (14/04/2002).

* * *
My impression is that whatever was around and edible, was eaten which 
typically involved a blend of meat and vegetable matter.

An aside: another URL that deals with fibre and cancer from plant remains 
http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v61/n1/full/1602486a.html

From my limited reading it seems that they are only able to analyze fossils 
not older than around 10,000 years although I am not sure about that....

This is a fascinating area to further research, Philip.

Marilyn