Abstract
The odour which occurs following rehydration of an archaeological coprolite has long been used as an informal means of faecal identification. To date, analysis of volatiles of coprolites belonging to different phylogenies has not been attempted, and the possibility of utilising volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as faecal biomarkers remains unexplored. VOC characterisations of coprolites from the Paisley Caves archaeological site, Oregon, using solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME), were conducted to differentiate between coprolites and non-faecal deposits, and to determine source (carnivores, herbivores or humans). Results indicate that coprolites derived from carnivores can be clearly distinguished from those originating from herbivores and humans. Moreover, despite herbivores and humans being more closely related, they can still be largely separated using PCA. Eight discriminatory compounds were identified, which were able to differentiate between the phylogenies, and their identities were further verified using reference standards. However, coprolites and their associated sediments could not be differentiated using this method, suggesting some degree of leaching of VOCs into the burial matrix. This work provides a novel way to assess coprolite origin without resorting to time-consuming laboratory procedures.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 106806 |
| Journal | iScience |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 4 May 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Jun 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors wish to thank the NERC for partial funding of the National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF; contract no. NE/V003917/1). Samples were collected as part of NERC project NE/P003001/1. We would also like to thank the Paisley Caves excavation team, and the Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History for enabling access to the site and samples. W.Z.: Methodology, Software, Validation, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – Original draft preparation, Visualization, H.L.W.: Conceptualization, Validation, Resources, Writing – Review and Editing, J.C.B.: Resources, Writing – Review and Editing, L-M.S.: Resources, Writing – Review and Editing, D.L.J.: Resources, Writing – Review and Editing, I.D.B.: Conceptualization, Validation, Resources, Writing – Review and Editing, Supervision. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.
Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank the NERC for partial funding of the National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF; contract no. NE/V003917/1 ). Samples were collected as part of NERC project NE/P003001/1 . We would also like to thank the Paisley Caves excavation team, and the Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History for enabling access to the site and samples.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)