Animal Dung and Archaeology

An Idiosyncratic and Not Exhaustive Bibliography for Animal Dung and Archaeology

accumulated by Naomi F. Miller, University of Pennsylvania Museum

May 2013

While we tend to think of livestock mainly as a source of meat and milk, in practice they produce more dung than anything else. B. Sillar (2000:46).

Most recent entries
Entire listing
Heat of dung-fueled fires
Dung and War
Photo links (some new ones added February 12, 2002)
"Farm Uses Camel Dung for Environmental Clean-up"
"Guts, Germination, and Seeds"

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, December 24, 2010

For some scat identification criteria, check out Terrierman for rat, fox, raccoon, skunk, goose, rabbit, coyote, opossum, groundhog, chipmunk, porcupine, deer

Keyword organization:
Country; Site; Archaeological relevance: e.g., fuel/fertilizer/feature; Focus if not archaeological; Animal
and thanks to Örni Akeret (OA) for providing a bunch of references

Most recent entries

May, 2013

Portillo, Marta
2012 Domestic patterns in the Numidian site of Althiburos (northern Tunisia): The results from a combined study of animal bones, dung and plant remains. Quaternary International 275: 84-96.
Tunisia/Althiburos/1M BC/fuel

Marinova, Elena, Veerle Linseele, and Marlu Kühn
2013 Bioarchaeological research on animal dung - possibilities and limitations. Environmental Archaeology 18:1-3.

Linseele, Veerle, Heiko Riemer, Jan Baeten, Dirk De Vos, Elena Marinova, and Claudio Ottoni
2013 Species identification of archaeological dung remains: A critical review of potential methods. Environmental Archaeology 18:5-17.

Wallace, Michael and Michael Charles
2013 What goes in does not always come out: The impact of the ruminant digestive system of sheep on plant material, and its importance for the interpretation of dung-derived archaeobotanical assemblages. Environmental Archaeology 18:18-30.
sheep

Valamoti, Soultana Maria
2013 Towards a distinction between digested and undigested glume bases in the archaeobotanical record from Neolithic northern Greece: A preliminary experimental investigation. Environmental Archaeology 18:31-42.

Kühn, Marlu, Ursula Maier, Christoph Herbig, Kristin Ismail-Meyer, Matthieu Le Bailly, and Lucia Wick
2013 Methods for the examination of cattle, sheep and goat dung in prehistoric wetland settlements with examples of the sites Alleshausen-Täschenwiesen and Alleshausen-Grundwiesen (around cal 2900 BC) at Lake Federsee, south-west Germany. Environmental Archaeology 18:43-57.
Germany/L. Federsee/cattle/sheep/goat

Marinova, Elena, Philippa Ryan, Wim Van Neer, and Renée Friedman
2013 Animal dung from arid environments and archaeobotanical methodologies for its analysis: An example from animal burials of the Predynastic elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis, Egypt. Environmental Archaeology 18:58-71.
Egypt/phytolith/pollen/elephant

Kuzmicheva, E.A., H. Debella, B. Khasanov, O. Krylovich, A. Babenko, A. Savinetsky, E. Severova, and S. Yirga
2013 Holocene hyrax dung deposits in the afroalpine belt of the Bale Mountains (Ethiopia) and their palaeoclimatic implication. Environmental Archaeology 18:72-81.
Ethiopia/Hyrax/pollen

March, 2013

Bryant, Vaughn M. and Karl J. Reinhard
2012 Coprolites and Archaeology: The Missing Links in Understanding Human Health. In Vertebrate Coprolites, eds. A.P. Hunt, J. Milàn, S.G. Lucas, and J.A. Spielmann, pp. 379-387. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque.
human

Ejarque, Ana, Yannick Miras, and Santiago Riera
2011 Pollen and non-pollen palynomorph indicators of vegetation and highland grazing activities obtained from modern surface and dung datasets in the eastern Pyrenees. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 167: 123-139.
Andorra/Pyrenees/palynology/grazing

Hunt, Adrian P., Jesper Milàn, Spencer G. Lucas, and Justin A. Spielmann,eds.
2012 Vertebrate Coprolites. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque.
paleontology, mostly/history

Pemberton, S. George
2012 William Buckland (1784-1856) and Henry De la Beche (1796-1855): the Early History of Coprolites. In Vertebrate Coprolites, eds. A.P. Hunt, J. Milàn, S.G. Lucas, and J.A. Spielmann, pp. 29-43. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque.
paleontology/history/

February, 2013

Kühn, M. and L. Wick
2010 Pflanzenreste in Koprolithen von Schafen und Ziegen: was frassen die kleinen Wiederkäuer von Pfäffikon-Burg? [Plant remains in coprolites of sheep and goats; what did the small ruminants of Pfäffikon-Burg eat?]. In Die horgenzeitliche Siedlung Pfäffikon-Burg, ed. U. Eberli, pp. 256-261. Monographien der Kantonsarchäologie Zürich 40, Zürich.
Switzerland/Pfäffikon-Burg/fodder

December, 2012

Simpson, Ian A., Orri Vésteinsson, W. Paul Adderley, and Thomas H. McGovern
2003 Fuel resource utilisation in landscapes of settlement. Journal of Archaeological Science 30: 1401-1420. doi:10.1016/S0305-4403(03)00035-9
Iceland/fuel/micromorphology

Portillo, Marta, Rosa M. Albert, Seiji Kadowaki, and Yoshihiro Nishiaki
2010 Domestic activities at Early Neolithic Tell Seker al-Aheimar (Upper Khabur, Northeastern Syria) through phytoliths and spherulites studies. In Des hommes et des plantes. Exploitation du milieu et gestion des ressources végétales de la préhistoire à nos jours. XXXe rencontres internatinales d'archéologie et d'histoire d'Antibes, eds. C. Delhon I. Théry-Parisot, S. Thiébault, pp. 19-30. Éditions APDCA, Antibes. [Download PDF]
Syria /T. Seker al-Aheimar/PPNB

September, 2012

Zimmermann, W. H.
1999 Why was cattle-stalling introduced in prehistory? The significance of byre and stable and of outwintering. In Settlement and Landscape, Proceedings of a Conference in Arhus, Denmark, May 4-7 1998, eds. C. Fabech and J. Ringtved, pp. 295-312. Jutland Archaeological Society. Arhus. [Download PDF]
N. Europe/cattle/fertilizer

Zimmermann, W.H.
1999 Favourable conditions for cattle farming, one reason for the Anglo-Saxon migration over the North Sea? About the Byre's evolution in the area south and east of the North Sea and England. In In Discussion with the Past, eds. H. Sarfatij, W. H. Verwers and P. J. Woltering, pp. 129-144. Archaeological Studies Presented to W. A. van Es. Amersfoort.
[ Download PDF]
N. Europe/cattle/fertilizer

Zimmermann, W. H.
1999 Stallhaltung und Auswinterung der Haustiere in ur- und frühgeschichtlicher Zeit, Beiträge zur Mittelalterarchäologie in Österreich 15, 1999, pp. 27-33. [Download PDF]
N. Europe/fertilizer

August, 2012

Djamali, Morteza, Fereidoun Biglari, Kamyar Abdi, Valérie Andrieu-Ponel, Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu, Marjan Mashkour, and Philippe Ponel
2011 Pollen analysis of coprolites from a late Pleistocene-Holocene cave deposit (Wezmeh Cave, west Iran): insights into the late Pleistocene and late Holocene vegetation and flora of the central Zagros Mountains. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 3394-3401. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.08.001
Iran/Wezmeh Cave/pollen/hyena

Szpaka, Paul, Jean-François Millaire, Christine D. White, Fred J. Longstaff
2012 Influence of seabird guano and camelid dung fertilization on the nitrogen isotopic composition of field-grown maize (Zea mays). Journal of Archaeological Science 39: 3721-3740. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.06.035
Peru/isotope/camelid/guano

Portillo, Marta and Rosa M. Albert
2011 Husbandry practices and livestock dung at the Numidian site of Althiburos (el Médéina, Kef Governorate, northern Tunisia): the phytolith and spherulite evidence. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 3224-3233. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.06.027
Tunisia/Althiburos/phytolith/spherulite

Bogaard, Amy
2012 Middening and manuring in Neolithic Europe: Issues of plausibbility, intensity and archaeological method. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 25-39, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
Europe/stable isotope

Bull, Ian and Richard Evershed
2012 Organic geochemical signatures of ancient manure use. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 61-77, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
biomarker

Cullen, Paul and Richard Jones
2012 Manure and middens in English place-names. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 97-108, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
United Kingdom/etymology

Forbes, Hamish
2012 Lost souls: ethnographic observations on manuring practices in a Mediterranean community. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 159-172, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
Greece/ethnoarchaeology

Jones, Richard (editor)
2012 Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives. Ashgate, Aldershot.
Europe/United Kingdom/archaeology/ethnoarchaeology

Jones, Richard
2012 Why manure matters. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 1-11, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.

Jones, Richard
2012 Understanding medieval manure. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 145-158, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
United Kingdom/ethnohistory

Kenward, H.K. and A.R. Hall
2012 Dung and stable manure on waterlogged archaeological occupation sites: some ruminations on the evidence from plant and invertebrate remains. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 79-95, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
United Kingdom/York/stable litter/insects

Pears, Ben
2012 The formation of anthropogenic soils across three marginal landscapes on Fair Isle and in the Netherlands and Ireland In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 109-127, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
United Kingdom/The Netherlands/Ireland

Ramprasad, Vanaja
2012 Manure, soil and the Vedic literature: agricultural knowledge and practice on the Indian subcontinent over the last two millennia. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 173-181, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
India/ethnohistory

Shiel, Robert
2012 Science and practice: the ecology of manure in historical retrospect. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 13-23, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
Roman classical authors

Varisco, Daniel
2012 Zibl and : coming to terms with manure in Arab agriculture. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 129-143, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
Arabian Peninsula/ethnohistory

Waddington, Kate
2012 (Re)cycles of life in Late Bronze Age southern Britain. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 41-59, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.
United Kingdom/middens

Entire listing

Akeret, Örni, Jean Nicolas Haas, Urs Leuzinger, and Stéfanie Jacomet
1999 Plant macrofossils and pollen in goat/sheep faeces from the Neolithic lake-lhore lettlement Arbon Bleiche 3, Switzerland. The Holocene 9: 175-182.
Switzerland/Arbon Bleiche 3/fodder/sheep/goat/OA

Akeret, Örni and Stéfanie Jacomet
1997 Analysis of plant macrofossils in goat/sheep faeces from the Neolithic lake shore settlement of Horgen Scheller - an indication of prehistoric transhumance? Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 6: 235-239.
Switzerland/Horgen Scheller/sheep/goat

Akeret, Örni, and Philippe Rentzel
2001 Micromorphology and plant macrofossil analysis of cattle dung from the Neolithic lake shore settlement of Arbon Bleiche 3. Geoarchaeology 16: 687-700.
Switzerland/Arbon Bleiche 3/fodder/cattle

Albert, R.M. and D.O. Henry
2004 Herding and Agricultural Activities at the Early Neolithic Site of Ayn Abu Nukhayla (Wadi Rum, Jordan). The Results of Phytolith and Spherulite Analyses. Paléorient 30(2): 81-92.
Jordan/Ayn Abu Nukhayla/PPNB/spherulite/phytolith/

Albert, R.M., R. Shahack-Gross, D. Cabanes, A. Gilboa, S. Lev-Yadun, M. Portillo, I. Sharon, E. Boaretto, and S. Weiner
2008 Phytolith-rich layers from the Late Bronze and Iron ages at Tel Dor (Israel): mode of formation and archaeological significance. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 57-75.
Israel/Tel Dor/2M/1M/phytolith

Anderson, Seona M.
1994/5 Faeces: an ethnographic and botanical study of dung fuel use in Central Anatolia [M.Sc.].University of Sheffield.
Turkey/fuel/ethnoarch/sheep/goat/cattle/OA

Anderson, Seona and Füsun Ertuğ-Yaraş
1998 Fuel fodder and faeces: an ethnographic and botanical study of dung fuel use in Central Anatolia. Environmental Archaeology 1: 99-109.
Turkey/fuel/ethnoarch

Argant, Jacqueline
1990 Climat et environnement au quaternaire dans le bassin du Rhôned'après les données palynologiques. Documents du Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon 111.
France/Neolithic cave/pollen (ancient)/sheep/goat (pp. 132-140)/ experiments in modern sheep dung (pp. 32-47)/OA

Badenhorst, Shaw
2009 Phytoliths and livestock dung at Early Iron Age sites in southern Africa. South African Archaeological Bulletin 64: 45-50.
South Africa/Central Cattle Pattern/phytolith/animal pen/cattle/sheep/goat

Birk, Jago Jonathan, Wenceslau Geraldes Teixeira, Eduardo Góes Neves, and Bruno Glaser
2011 Faeces deposition on Amazonian Anthrosols as assessed from 5Beta-stanols. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(6): 1209-1220. on-line
Amazon/Black Earth/biomolecule

Boschian, G. and E. Montagnari Kokelj
2000 Prehistoric shepherds and caves in the Trieste karst (northeastern Italy). Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 150(4): 331-371.
Italy/

Bottema, Sytze
1984 The composition of modern charred seed assemblages. In Plants and Ancient Man, eds. W. van Zeist and W.A. Casparie, pp. 207-212. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
Syria/fuel/sheep/ethnoarch

Brinkkemper, Otto
1991 Wetland farming in the area to the south of the Meuse estuary during the Iron Age and Roman Period. An environmental and palaeo-economic reconstruction. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 24. Leiden
Netherlands/macro/goat/sheep faeces (pp. 84/89, Table 24)/OA

Britton, Kate and Jacqui Huntley
2011 New evidence for the consumption of barley at Romano-British military and civilian sites, from the analysis of cereal bran fragments in faecal material. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20: 41-52. [doi:10.1007/s00334-010-0245-3]
England/Roman/diet/human

Brochier, J.-E.
1983 Combustion et parcage des herbivores domestiques. Le point de vue du sédimentologue. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 80(5): 143-145.
spherulite

Brochier J. É.
1991 Géoarchéologie du monde agropastoral. In Pour une archéologie agraire, ed. J. Guilaine, p. 303-322. A. Colin, Paris.

Brochier J. É.
1996 Feuilles ou fumiers? Observations sur rôle des poussières sphérolitiques dans l'interprétation des dépôts archéologiques holocènes. Anthropozoologica 24: 19-30.

Brochier J. É.
2002 Les sédiments anthropiques. Méthodes d'étude et Perspectives. In Géologie de la préhistoire: méthodes, techniques, applications, ed. C. Miskovsky, pp. 459-477. Geopré, Paris.

Brochier J. É.
2006 Des hommes et des bêtes: une approche naturaliste de l'histoire et des pratiques de l'élevage. In Populations néolithiques et environnements, ed. J. Guilaine, pp. 137-152. Collection des Hespérides, Errance, Paris.

Brochier, J.E., P. Villa, M. Giacomarra
1992 Shepherds and sediments: geo-ethnoarchaeology of pastoral sites. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 11: 47-102. [doi:10.1016/0278-4165(92)90010-9 ]
Italy/Sicily/ethnoarchaeology/sheep/goat

Buckland, P.C., K.J. Edwards, E. Panagiotakopulu, and J.E. Schofield
2009 Palaeoecological and historical evidence for manuring and irrigation at Gardar (Igaliku), Norse Eastern Settlement, Greenland. The Holocene 19: 105-116. [abstract]
Greenland/AD/manure

Bull, I.D., M.M. Elhmmali, V. Perret, W. Matthews, D.J. Roberts, and R.P. Evershed
2005 Biomarker evidence of faecal deposition in archaeological sediments at Çatalhöyük. InInhabiting Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995-99 Seasons, ed. I. Hodder, pp. 415-420. McDonald Institute Monographs, Cambridge. [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
biomolecule

Bull, I.D, I.A. Simpson, P.F. van Bergen, and R.P. Evershed
1999 Muck 'n' molecules: organic geochemical methods for detecting ancient manuring. Antiquity 73: 86-96. [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
biomolecule

Buurman, Janneke
1998/1999 Archaeobotanical investigations of a Middle and Late Bronze Age settlement site at Westwoud (West-Friesland). Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek 43: 99-140. (esp. pp. 128-131)
Netherlands/Westwoud

Canti, M.G.
1997 An investigation of microscopic calcareous spherulites from herbivore dungs. Journal of Archaeological Science 24: 219-231. [doi:10.1006/jasc.1996.0105]
spherulite

Canti, M.G.
1998 The micromorphological identification of faecal spherulites from archaeological and modern materials. Journal of Archaeological Science 25(5): 435-444. [doi:10.1006/jasc.1997.0210] [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
spherulites

Canti, M.G.
1999 The production and preservation of faecal spherulites: animals, environment and taphonomy, Journal of Archaeological Science 26(3): 251-258. [doi:10.1006/jasc.1996.0105] [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
spherulites

Carrion, Jose S., Louis Scott, Tom Huffman, and Cobus Dreyer
2000 Pollen analysis of Iron Age cow dung in southern Africa. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 9: 239-249.
South Africa/fuel/pollen/cow

Charles, Michael
1998 Fodder from dung: the recognition and interpretation of dung-derived plant material from archaeological sites. Environmental Archaeology 1: 111-122.
fodder

Charles, M. and A. Bogaard
2005 Identifying livestock diet from charred plant remains: a Neolithic case study from Southern Turkmenistan. In Diet and Health in Past Animal Populations, eds. J. Davies, M. Fabis, et al., pp. 93-103. 9th ICAZ Conference, Durham 2002. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
Turkmenistan/Jeitun/fodder/Neolithic

Chepstow-Lusty
2011 Agro-pastoralism and social change in the Cuzco heartland of Peru: a brief history using environmental proxies. Antiquity 85: 570-582.
Peru/2M/1M/AD/pollen/oribatid mites/llama

Chepstow-Lusty, A., M.R. Frogley, B.S. Bauer, M.J. Leng, A. Cundy, K.P. Boessenkool, and A. Gioda
2007 Evaluating socio-economic change in the Andes using oribatid mite abundances as indicators of domestic animal densities. Journal of Archaeological Science 34: 1178-86. [doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.12.023]
Peru/oribatid mites

Courty, M. A., R. I. Macphail, and J. Wattez
1991 Soil micromorphological indicators of pastoralism; with special reference to Arene Candide, Finale Ligure, Italy. Rivista di Studi Liguri 57: 127-150.
Italy/Arene Candide/Neolithic cave/micromorphology/cattle/sheep-goat/OA

Crawford, Patricia
2003 Weeds as indicators of land-use strategies in Ancient Egypt. In Food, Fuel and Fields. Progress in African Archaeobotany, eds. K. Newmann, A. Butler, and S. Kahleber, pp. 107-121. Heinrich Barth Institut, KÖln.
Egypt/2M/fuel

Darmon, F.
1989 Étude de l'environnement de la Grotte de Nahal Hemar dans le désert de Judée au Néolithique ancien d'après l'analyse des coprolithes de chèvres, Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sci. 308 (1989), pp. 1759-1764. [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
Israel/Nahal Hemar/Neolithic/goat

Delhon, C., L. Martin, J. Argant, et al.
2008 Shepherds and plants in the Alps: multi-proxy archaeobotanical analysis of Neolithic dung from "La Grande Rivoire" (Isère, France). Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 2937-2952.
France/Neolithic

Derreumaux, Marie
2005 How to detect fodder and litter? A case study from the Roman site "Le Marais de Dourges," France. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 14: 373-385. [doi:10.1007/s00334-005-0003-0]
France/Roman/macro/fodder

di Lernia, Savino
2001 Dismantling dung: delayed use of food resources among Early Holocene foragers of the Libyan Sahara. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 20: 408-441. [doi:10.1006/jaar.2000.0384]
Libya/Uan Afuda Cave/droppings/micromorphology/macro/pollen/fodder

Djamali, Morteza, Fereidoun Biglari, Kamyar Abdi, Valérie Andrieu-Ponel, Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu, Marjan Mashkour, and Philippe Ponel
2011 Pollen analysis of coprolites from a late PleistoceneeHolocene cave deposit (Wezmeh Cave, west Iran): insights into the late Pleistocene and late Holocene vegetation and flora of the central Zagros Mountains. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 3394-3401. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.08.001
Iran/Wezmeh Cave/pollen/hyena

Drescher-Schneider, Ruth
1997+ Ergebnisse der pollen- und grossrestanalytischen Untersuchungen im Gebiet der Plankenalm, Dachstein (Osterreich). In Vier Jahrtausende Almen im Hochgebirge, Band 2, eds. G. Cerwinka, and F. Mandl, pp. 46-61. Haus i. E.: Verein ANISA.
Austria/post AD 1300/pollen/macro/cattle/sheep/goats/pigs)/OA

Fenton, Alexander
1985 A fuel of necessity: animal manure. In The Shape of the Past. Essays in Scottish Ethnology, pp. 96-111. John Donald, Edinburgh.
Scotland/fuel

Goren, Y.
1999 On determining use of pastoral cave sites: a critical assessment of spherulites in archaeology. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 29: 123-128. [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
spherulites

Greig, J.
1984 Garderobes, sewers, cesspits and latrines. Current Archaeology 85: 49-52. [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]

Guelat, Michel, Olivier Paccolat and Philippe Rentzel
1998 Une étable gallo-romaine à Brigue-Glis VS/Waldmatte. Évidences archéologiques et micromorphologiques. Annuaire de la Société Suisse de Préhistoire et d'Archéologie 81: 171-182.
Switzerland/Iron Age/Roman/micromorphology/cattle/sheep-goat/OA

Haas, J.N.
2004 Mikroskopische Analyse von Schaf-Ziegenkoprolithen. In Die jungsteinzeitliche Seeufersidlung Arbon Bleiche 3. Umwelt und Wirtschaft, eds. S. Jacomet, U. Leuzinger, and J. Schibler, pp. 43-49. Archäologie in Thurgau 12. Frauenfeld, Kanton Thurgau.
Switzerland/Arbon Bleiche 3

Hadorn, Philippe
1994 Saint-Blaise/Bains des Dames, 1. Palynologie d'un site néolithique et historique de la végétation des derniers 16,000 ans. Archéologie neuchateloise 18. Musée Cantonal d'Archéologie, Neuchâtel.
Switzerland/pollen/sheep-goat (p. 55-57)/OA

Hall, A. and H. Kenward
1998 Disentangling dung: pathways to stable manure. Environmental Archaeology 1: 123-126.

Hall A.R., A.K.G. Jones, and H.K. Kenward
1983 Cereal bran and human faecal remains from archaeological deposits-some preliminary observations. In Site, Environment and Economy, ed. B. Proudfoot, pp. 85-105. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 173. Oxford.
United Kingdom/cess/human

Hastorf, Christine A. and Melanie F. Wright
1998 Interpreting wild seeds from archaeological sites: a dung charring experiment from the Andes. Journal of Ethnobiology 18: 211-227.
Bolivia/Peru/Argentina/experimental archaeology/camelid/goat/guinea pig

Hellwig, Maren
1997 Plant remains from two cesspits (15th and 16th Century) and a pond (13th Century) from Gottingen, southern Lower Saxony, Germany. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 6: 105-116.
Germany/pollen in 1 sheep-goat dropping/OA

Hillman, G.C., A.J. Legge, and P.A. Rowley-Conwy
1997 On the charred seeds from Epipaleolithic Abu Hureyra: food or fuel? Current Anthropology 38: 651-655. (reply to Miller, CA 1996).
Syria/Abu Hureyra/fuel-not

James, L. H.
1928 An observed case of “spontaneus” ignition in stable manure. Journal of Agricultural Research 36(5): 481-485.

Johansen, P.G.
2004 Landscape, monumental architecture, and ritual: a reconsideration of the South Indian ashmounds. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23: 309-330. [doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2004.05.003] [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]

Jones, G.E.M.
1998 Distinguishing food from fodder in the archaeobotanical record. Environmental Archaeology 1:95-99.
fodder

Jones, John G. and Duccio Bonavia
1992 Analysis de coprolitos de llama (Lama glama) de precermico tardio de la costa nor central del Peru. Bulletin de l'Institut Français des Études Andines 21(3): 835-852.
Peru/llama

Jones, Richard (editor)
2012 Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives. Ashgate, Aldershot.
Europe/United Kingdom/archaeology/ethnoarchaeology

Jones, Richard
2012 Why manure matters. In Manure Matters: Historical, Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives, pp. 1-11, ed. R. Jones. Ashgate, Aldershot.

Jorgensen, Grethe
1986 Medieval plant remains from the settlement in Mollergade 6. In Analyses of Medieval Plant Remains, Textiles and Wood from Svendborg. The Archaeology of Svendborg, Denmark 4, ed. H. M. Jansen, pp. 45-84. Odense University Press, Odense.
Denmark/cattle? (p. 75-77)/OA

Karg, Sabine
1998 Winter- and spring-foddering of sheep/goat in the Bronze Age Site of Fiave-Carera, Northern Italy. Environmental Archaeology 1: 87-94.
Italy/Fiave-Carera/pollen/macro/sheep-goat/OA

Katz, O., I. Gilead, P. Bar (Kutiel) and R. Shahack-Gross
2007 Chalcolithic agricultural life at Grar, northern Negev, Israel: dry farmed cereals and dung-fueled fires. Paléorient 33.2:101-116.

Kenward, Harry and Allan Hall
1997 Enhancing bioarchaeological interpretation using indicator groups: stable manure as a paradigm. Journal of Archaeological Science 24: 663-673. [doi:10.1006/jasc.1996.0149]
OA

Klee, Marlies and Lucia Wick
2007 Archäobotanische Untersuchungen: Koproliten und Mist. In Vicus Petinesca-Vorderberg, die Ziehbrunnen. Petinesca 4: 117-130.. Archäologischen Dienst des Kantons Bern.
Switzerland/Roman

Körber-Grohne, Udelgard
1982 Der Schacht in Fellbach-Schmiden aus botanischer und stratigraphischer Sicht. In Eine neuentdeckte keltische Viereckschanze in Fellbach-Schmiden, Rems-Murr-Kreis, ed. D. Planck, pp. 154-168. Germania 60.
Germany/Iron Age/pollen/macro/sheep-goat/OA

Kühn, M. and P. Hadorn
2004 Pflanzliche Makro- und Mikroresten aus Dung von Weidekäuem. In Die jungsteinzeitliche Seeufersidlung Arbon Bleiche 3. Umwelt und Wirtschaft, eds. S. Jacomet, U. Leuzinger, and J. Schibler, pp. 327-350. Archäologie in Thurgau 12. Frauenfeld, Kanton Thurgau.
Switzerland/Arbon Bleiche 3

Lancelotti, Carla and Marco Madella
2012 The 'invisible' product: developing markers for identifying dung in archaeological contexts. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(4): 953-963.
India/spherulite/phytolith/chemistry

Landsberg, J., J. Stol, and W. Müller
1994 Telling the sheep (dung) from the goats'. Rangeland Journal 16: 122-134. [abstract only]
sheep and goat pellet differentiation

Linseele, V., E. Marinova, W. Van Neer, and P. Vermeersch
2010 Sites with Holocene dung deposits in the Eastern Desert of Egypt: visited by herders? Journal of Arid Environments 74: 818-828. [doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.04.014]
Egypt/Sodmein/Tree Shelter/Neolithic/7m/sheep/goat/ibex

Madella, Marco
2003 Investigating agriculture and environment in South Asia: present and future contributions from opal phytoliths. In Indus Ethnobiology, eds. S.A. Weber and W.R. Belcher, pp. 199-249. Lexington Books, Lanham, Maryland.
Pakistan/Harappa/phytolith

Marinova, Elena, Veerle Linseele, and Marlu Kühn
2013 Bioarchaeological research on animal dung - possibilities and limitations. Environmental Archaeology 18:1-3.

Matthews, Wendy
1999 Micromorphology Archive Report. Çatal Höyük 1999 Archive Report. See especially sections 4.2, 4.3.4, 4.4, 4.5.2.3 (online)
Turkey/Çatalhöyük/stable litter/fuel

Matthews, Wendy
2010 Geoarchaeology and taphonomy of plant remains and microarchaeological residues in early urban environments in the Ancient Near East. Quaternary International 214:98-113. [doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2009.10.019]
West Asia/micromorphology

Matthews, W., C.A.I. French, T. Lawrence, D.F. Cutler, and M.K. Jones
2001 Microstratigraphic analysis of depositional sequences in Areas FS and SS. In Excavations at Tell Brak, vol. 2: Nagar in the Third Millennium BC, by D. Oates, J. Oates, and H. McDonald, pp. 353-367 (especially 363-365). McDonald Institute Monograph, Cambridge.
Syria/Tell Brak/feature/soil micromorphology/spherule

Mlekuz, Dimitrij
2009 The materiality of dung: the manipulation of dung in Neolithic Mediterranean caves. Documenta Praehistorica 36: 219-225. Available online

Miller, Naomi F.
1982 Economy and Environment of Malyan, A Third Millennium City in Southern Iran. Ph.D. Dissertation, Anthropology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Iran/Malyan/fuel

Miller, Naomi F.
1984 The use of dung as fuel: an ethnographic example and an archaeological application. Paléorient 10(2): 71-79.
Iran/Malyan/fuel/ethnoarch

Miller, Naomi F.
1984 The interpretation of some carbonized cereal remains as remnants of dung cake fuel. Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture 1: 45-47
Iran/Malyan/fuel

Miller, Naomi F.
1996 Seed-Eaters of the ancient Near East: human or herbivore? Current Anthropology 37: 521-528. (also reply to Hillman et al., CA 38: 655-659)
Iran/Syria/Ali Kosh/Abu Hureyra/fuel

Miller, Naomi F. and Tristine Lee Smart
1984 Intentional burning of dung as fuel: a mechanism for the incorporation of charred seeds into the archeological record. Journal of Ethnobiology 4: 15-28.
Iran/Malyan/U.S./Black Mesa/ethnoarch/bison

Moore, J.G., B.K. Krotoszynski, and H.J. O'Neill
1984 Fecal odorgrams. A method for partial reconstruction of ancient and modern diets. Digestive Diseases and Sciences n.s. 29(10): 907-911.
human/animal

Mouissie, A.M., P. Vos, H.M.C. Verhagen, and J.P. Bakker
2005 Endozoochory by free-ranging, large herbivores: ecological correlates and perspectives for restoration. Basic and Applied Ecology 6:547-558. [doi:10.1016/j.baae.2005.03.004]
Seed dispersal/cow/sheep/pony

Neef, R. and S. Bottema
1991 Mest als bron voor verkoold plantaardig materiaal uit opgravingen in het Nabije Oosten. Waarnemingen en Experimenten. Paleo-Aktueel 2: 72-76.
Near East/fuel/experimental arch

Nielsen, B., Overgaard, V. Mahler, and P. Rasmussen
2000 An Arthropod Assemblage and the Ecological Conditions in a Byre at the Neolithic Settlement of Weier, Switzerland. Journal of Archaeological Science 27: 209-218. [doi:10.1006/jasc.1999.0448]
Switzerland/Weier/insect

Pawlikowski, Maciej
1992 Mineralogical description of a coprolite from Uan Muhaggiag Rock Shelter, SW Libya. Origini 16: 153-156.
Libya/Uan Muhaggiag/cattle

Pelling, Ruth
2000 The charred and mineralised plant remains. In A Bronze Age Ditch and Iron Age Settlement at Elms Farm, Humberstore, Leicester, by B.M. Charles et al. Transactions of Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society 74: 207-213.
England/cess

Pemberton, S. George
2010 History of Ichnology: The Reverend William Buckland (1784-1856) and the Fugitive Poets. Ichnos 17:246-263 .
paleontology/humor

Pemberton, S. George and Robert W. Frey
1991 William Buckland and his coprolitic vision. Ichnos 1: 317-325.
paleontology

Perkins, Sid
2003 A human migration fueled by dung? Science News Online 164(6): 94, week of Aug. 9, 2003 [Siberians follow dung across Beringia]

Peter, Bafentse
1999? Vitrified dung in archaeological contexts: an experimental study on the process of its formation in the Mosu and Bobirwa areas. Botswana Journal of African Studies 15: 125-143. Pula. Available online
Botswana/dung deposit/sheep

Ramsay, Jennifer and Yotam Tepper
2010 Signs from a green desert: a preliminary examination of the archaeobotanical remains from a Byzantine dovecote near Shivta, Israel. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 19: 235-242.
Israel//Shivta//AD

Rasmussen, Peter
1989 Leaf Foddering in the earliest Neolithic agriculture. Evidence from Switzerland and Denmark. Acta Archaeologica 60: 71-85.
Switzerland/Neolithic/fodder/experimental/cattle)/OA

Rasmussen, Peter
1989 Leaf-foddering of Livestock in the Neolithic: archaeobotanical evidence from Weier, Switzerland. Journal of Danish Archaeology 8: 51-71.
Switzerland/Neolithic/fodder/experimental/cattle)/OA

Rasmussen, Peter
1993 Analysis of goat/sheep faeces from Egolzwil 3, Switzerland: evidence for branch and twig foddering of livestock in the Neolithic. Journal of Archaeological Science 20: 479-502. [doi:10.1006/jasc.1993.1030]
Switzerland/Egolzwil 3/fodder

Reddy, Seetha N.
1998 Fueling the hearths in India: the role of dung in paleoethnobotanical interpretation. Paléorient 24 (2): 61-70.
India/ethnoarch

Richard, Herve
1986 Analyse pollinique des niveaux archéologiques et des coprolithes. In Les sites littoraux néolithiques de Clairvaux-les Lacs, Jura. I.: Problématique generale. L'exemple de la station III, ed. P. Petrequin, pp. 149-153. Edition de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris.
France/Neolithic, pollen/sheep-goat (pp. 152-153 )/OA

Riehl, Simone
1999 Tierhaltung und Ökologie in Tell el 'Abd.
sheep/goat (nice photo, too!)

Robinson, David and Bent Aaby
1994 Pollen and plant macrofossil analyses from the Gedensby Ship - a Medieval shipwreck from Falster, Denmark. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 3: 167-182.
Denmark/cattle (horses?)/OA

Robinson, David and Peter Rasmussen, Peter
1989 Botanical investigations at the Neolithic Lake Village at Weier, North East Switzerland: leaf hay and cereals as animal fodder. In The Beginnings of Agriculture, eds. A. Milles, D. Williams, and N. Gardner, pp. 149-163. BAR International Series 496, Oxford.
Switzerland/Weier/fodder/fertilizer

Rosas, C.A., D.M. Engle, J.H. Shaw, & M.W. Palmer
2008 Seed dispersal by Bison bison in a tallgrass prairie. Journal of Vegetation Science , on-line
Seed dispersal/bison

Rosen, Steven A., Arkady B. Savinetsky, Yosef Plakht, Nina K.Kisseleva, Bulat F. Khassanov, Andrey M. Pereladov, and MordecaiHaiman
2005 Dung in the desert: preliminary Results of the Negev Holocene Ecology Project. Current Anthropology 46:317-327.
Israel/Negev/rockshelter/sheep/goat

Rouppert, V., J.-Y. Dafour, K. Fechner
2011 An example of a fruitful discussion between a pedologist and an archaeologist. A 1st-4th century AD agricultural enclosure with a stable and a manure pit at "Chapelle Saint-Nicolas" inSaint-Brice-sous-forêt (Val-d'Oise, France). In Archaeology, Soil- and Life-Sciences Applied to Enclosures and Fields, eds. K. Fechner, Y. Devos, M. Leopold, and J. Völkel, pp. 133-142. BAR International 2222.
France/Chapelle Saint-Nicolas/AD/

Sareiya, K.P. and P. Venkataramany
1962 Use of cattle-dung as manure and domestic fuel. Indian Forester 88: 718-724.
India/fertilizer/fuel/ethno

Schelvis, Jaap
1992 The identification of archaeological dung deposits on the basis of remains of predatory mites (Acari; Gamasida). Journal of Archaeological Science 19: 677-682. [doi:10.1016/0305-4403(92)90037-4]
Netherlands/entomology/OA

Schmidt, Edith
2006 Remains of fly puparia as indicators of Neolithic cattle farming. Environmental Archaeology 11: 143-144.
Germany/3M/Lake Federsee/insect remains

Schofield, J. Edward and Kevin J. Edwards
2011 Grazing impacts and woodland management in Eriksfjord: Betula, coprophilous fungi and the Norse settlement of Greenland. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20: 181-197. [doi:10.1007/s00334-011-0281-7]
Greenland/Viking/land use

June, 2011

Shahack-Gross, Ruth
2011 Herbivorous livestock dung: formation, taphonomy, methods for identification, and archaeological significance. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(2): 205-218. [doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.019]
sheep/goat/cattle/review

Shahack-Gross, Ruth, Rosa-Maria Albert, Ayelet Gilboa, OrnaNagar-Hilman, Ilan Sharon, Steve Weiner
2005 Geoarchaeology in an urban context: the uses of space in a Phoenician monumental building at Tel Dor (Israel). Journal of Archaeological Science 32: 1417-1431. [doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.04.001]
Israel/Tel Dor/1M/feature/micromorphology/phytolith

Shahack-Gross, R., F. Berna, P. Karkanas, and S. Weiner
2004 Bat guano and preservation of archaeological remains in cave sites. Journal of Archaeological Science 31:1259-1272. [doi:10.1016/j.jas.2004.02.004] [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
bat guano

Shahack-Gross, Ruth and Israel Finkelstein
2007 Subsistence practices in an arid environment: a geoarchaeological investigation in an Iron Age Site, the Negev highlands, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 965-982. [doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.06.019]
Levant/animal pen/1M/Early Iron Age/Atar Haroa

Shahack-Gross, Ruth, Fiona Marshall, and Steve Weiner
2003 Geo-ethnoarchaeology of pastoral sites: the identification of livestock enclosures in abandoned Maasai settlements. Journal of Archaeological Science 30: 439-459. [doi:10.1006/jasc.2002.0853]
Kenya/boma/stable litter/cattle/caprine/micromorphology/phytolith

Shahack-Gross, Ruth, Allison Simons, and Stanley H. Ambrose
2008 Identification of pastoral sites using stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes from bulk sediment samples: a case study in modern and archaeological pastoral settlements in Kenya. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 983-990. [doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.07.002]
Maasai/animal pen

Shillito, Lisa-Marie, Ian D. Bull, Wendy Matthews, Matthew J. Almond, James M. Williams, and Ricard P. Evershed
2011 Biomolecular and micromorphological analysis of suspected faecal deposits at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(8): 1869-1877.
Turkey/Çatalhöyük/human

Sillar, B.
2000 Dung by preference: the choice of fuel as an example of how Andean pottery production is embedded within wider technical, social and economic practices. Archaeometry 42(1): 43-60. [doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2000.tb00865.x]

Stika, Hans-Peter
1995 Fuente Alamo. Die archäobotanische Untersuchung einer bronzezeitlichen Siedlung in Südostspanien. In Res archaeobotanicae, International Workgroup for Palaeoethnobotany, Proceedings of the Ninth Symposium, Kiel 1992. eds. H. Kroll and R. Pasternak, pp. 309-316. Oetker-Voges-Verlag, Kiel.
Spain/macro/fuel?/>100 carbonised sheep-goat droppings (p. 314)/OA

Szpak, Paul, Jean-François Millaire, Christine D. White, Fred J. Longstaff
2012 Influence of seabird guano and camelid dung fertilization on the nitrogen isotopic composition of field-grown maize (Zea mays). Journal of Archaeological Science 39: 3721-3740. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.06.035
Peru/isotope/camelid/guano

Therkorn, L. L., R. W. Brandt, J. P. Pals and M. Taylor
1984 An Early Iron Age farmstead: Site Q of the Assendelver Polders Project. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 50: 351-373.
Netherlands/pollen/fuel?/cattle/sheep-goat/OA

Thompson, G.B.
1996 Ethnographic models for interpreting rice remains. In The Excavation of Khok Phanom Di, A Prehistoric Site in Central Thailand, vol. IV. Subsistence and Environment: The Botanical Evidence, by G.B. Thompson, pp. 119-150. Society of Antiquities, London.
Thailand/Khok Phanom Di/threshing floor/ethnoarch

Tomescu, Alexandru Mihail Florian, Valentin Radu, and Dragos Moise
2003 High resolution stratigraphic distribution of coprolites withinneolithic middens, a case study: Harsova-Tell (Constanta County,southeast Romania. Environmental Archaeology 8: 97-109.
Romania/Harsova-Tell/coprolite/dog/pig/human

Troels-Smith, J.
1955 Pollenanalytische Untersuchungen zu einigen schweizerischen Pfahlbauproblemen. In Das Pfahlbauproblem, ed. W. U. Guyan, pp. 11-68. Monographien zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte der Schweiz 11. Birkhauser, Basel.
Switzerland/pollen/3 sheep-goat droppings (pp. 28-32)/OA

Troels-Smith, J.
1984 Stall-feeding and field manuring in Switzerland about 6000 years ago. Tools and Tillage 5: 13-25.
Switzerland/fodder/fertilizer

Valamoti, S.M.
2007 Detecting seasonal movement from animal dung: an investigation in Neolithic northern Greece. Antiquity 81:1053-1064. [ref in Shahack-Gross 2011]
Greece/Neolithic/Makriyalos/Apsalos/Mandalo/Makri/seasonality/6M/5M

Valamoti, Soultana Maria and Mike Charles
2005 Distinguishing food from fodder through the study of charred plant remains: an experimental approach to dung-derived chaff. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 14: 528-533. [doi:10.1007/s00334-005-0090-y]
Greece//Makriyalos//Makri//Late Neolithic//goat

van der Veen, Marijke
2007 Formation processes of desiccated and carbonized plant remains-the identification of routine practice. Journal of Archaeological Science 34:960-990. [doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.09.007]
Egypt/Sudan/fodder/fuel/temper

van Geel, Bas, Janneke Buurman, Otto Brinkkemper, Jaap Schelvis, André Aptroot, Guido van Reenen, and Tom Hakbijl
2003 Environmental reconstruction of a Roman Period settlement site in Uitgeest (The Netherlands), with special reference to coprophilous fungi. Journal of Archaeological Science 30(7): 873-883. [doi:10.1016/S0305-4403(02)00265-0]
The Netherlands/Uitgeest/Roman/fungus

Warington, K.
1924 The influence of manuring on the weed flora of arable land. Journal of Ecology 12: 111-126.
fertilizer/ethno

Wasylikowa, Krystyna
1992 Holocene flora of the Tadrart Acacus area, SW Libya, based on plant macrofossils from Uan Muhuggiag and Ti-nTorha/Two Caves Archaeological Sites. Origini 16: 125-152, 157-159. (photograph)
Libya/Uan Muhaggiag/sheep/goat

Wilson, D.G.
1979 Horse dung from Roman Lancaster. Archaeo-Physika 8: 331-350.
England/Lancaster/horse

Winterhalder, B., R. Larsen, and R. B. Thomas
1974 Dung as an essential resource in a highland Peruvian community. Human Ecology 2: 89-104. [doi:10.1007/BF01558115]
Peru/fertilizer/fuel/ethno/llama/alpaca/cattle/sheep

Wright, Milt
1986 Le bois de vache: This chip's for you. Saskatchewan Archaeology 7: 25-28.
fuel/bison

Wright, Milt
1992 Le bois de vache II: This chip's for you too. In Alberta: Studies in the Arts and Sciences, ed. J. Foster and D. Harrison. Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 225-244. The University of Alberta Press.
fuel/bison

Zapata Peña, Lydia, Leonor Peña-Chocarro, Juan José Ibáñez Esté, and JesúsGonzález Urquijo
2004 Ethnoarchaeology in the Moroccan Jebala (Western Rif): Woodand dung as fuel. In Food, Fuel and Fields. Progress in African Archaeobotany, eds. K. Neumann, A. Butler, and S. Kahlheber, pp.163-175. Heinrich-Barth Institut, Köaut;ln.
Morocco//fuel//ethnoarchaeology

Zimmermann, W. H.
1999 Favourable conditions for cattle farming, one reason for the Anglo-Saxon migration over the North Sea? About the Byre's evolution in the area south and east of the North Sea and England. In In Discussion with the Past, eds. H. Sarfatij, W. H. Verwers and P. J. Woltering, pp. 129-144. Archaeological Studies Presented to W. A. van Es. Amersfoort.
[ Download PDF]
N. Europe//cattle//fertilizer

Heat of dung-fueled fires (back to top of page)

An edited exchange from the Archaeobotany List (Archaeobotany@ucl.ac.uk)

On Mon, 14 Apr 1997, Naomi Miller wrote:
Does anyone know how hot a dung-fueled fire burns? Or have a reference? Several people have asked me this question in just the past month! Clearly a hot topic.

From: GuildD@aol.com
It burns a lot cooler than a wood fire, with a steady low flame. In India, it is used as fuel for cooking. Whomever does the cooking "puts the pot on to boil" in the morning and leaves for the daily work. Upon returning for lunch the meal is done. In addition, it's free. See Marvin Harris, "Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches"

From: kealhofer lisa k
Rice's citations and discussions of open pit firing commonly include grass, wood, and dung. The temperatures range from 550 C to 900 C. Temperatures in enclosed spaces, such as kilns, ovens, or even hearths may be at the upper end of this range and higher. [Rice 1987:156, 164,165]

From: Alwynne Beaudoin
Milt Wright (1986) Le Bois De Vache: This Chip's For You. Saskatchewan Archaeology 7: 25-28

Milt Wright (1992) Le Bois De Vache II: This Chip's For You Too. In Alberta: Studies in the Arts and Sciences, edited by John Foster and Dick Harrison. Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 225-244. The University of Alberta Press.

Milt, who was formerly a colleague of mine here at the Provincial Museum, carried out a number of experiments with burning bison dung, and comparing the temperatures with fires from wood (poplar and spruce). He was concerned to investigate the effectiveness of dung fires. Although serious science, the papers are also well worth reading for Milt's sense of humour and writing style.

From: Delwen Samuel
Regarding temperatures of dung-fuelled fires, my experiment in Egypt with local village-made dung cake fuel (using palm fronds for initial tinder) produced a maximum of 640 degrees C in 12 minutes, falling to 240 degrees C after 25 minutes and 100 degrees C after 46 minutes. These temperatures were obtained without refuelling and without bellows etc. I'm not sure what the dung consisted of exactly but was probably a mixture of water buffalo, cow, and perhaps donkey dung. The full time/temperature records are published on p. 276 in:
D. Samuel (1989) Their staff of life: Initial investigations on ancient Egyptian bread baking In: B. J. Kemp, ed. Amarna Reports V, London: Egypt Exploration Society, pp 253-290.

From: M. Madella
From our ethnographical observation in Pakistan, cow/buffalo dung is also used to fire pottery. The kilns are prepared with layers of dung + whatever organic thing that can burn (paper/straw/dead branches...) and pottery. Then are sealed with soil, leaving some holes for the fumes and to control the burning. In general dung is the principal source of fuel.

Of course it is the major source of fire for house cooking. In the desertic areas dung from camel is also used.

The Baloochi tribes that live in the Thar during the winter use sheep/goat dung to make fires with a lot of smoke outside their huts - this keeps under control the mosquitos!

At the moment I am working on the phytolith content of such fires in comparison with the fireplaces for cooking (where a mixture of camel/cow dung and wood is used) and, although the results are very very preliminary, it seems to be possible to discriminate between the two different fires on the base of phytolith assemblages.

From: Ruth Shahack-Gross, e-mail Sept. 21, 2006
I conducted an experimental firing of dung in an open fire. Cattle dung reached a maximum of 630 degrees Celsius and sheep dung a maximum of 570C. The pellets, especially those from the sheep, continue to smolder for quite a long time and essentially have the same characteristics as those of live embers. It is quite a good fuel material. This experiment was done as part of my work published in the Tel Dor article (Shahack-Gross et al. 2005)

Dung and World War II (back to top of page)

The Secrets of War, copyright 1998 Documedia group.
An interview with D. Fisher; here is an excerpt:

DF: ...They found uh, some forms of pigment, they found all kinds of...what they didn't find, what they couldn't find was something that would give the paint the right color. Uh, so eventually what they did was took camel dung, of which there was an abundance in the desert, and they mixed it into the paint and they created this camouflage paint that eventually for almost a year was the only thing that they used in the desert. And it created the right, obviously created the right color.

Q: So did they make a run on camel dung?

DF: So once they used camel dung, what happened was camel dung actually had a lot of uses in the desert, it was used to heat stoves, to bake bread, to do all kinds of things. Uh, so Maskelyn, because they needed massive amounts, sent out all his people with burlap bags, and they would walk along camels, and they would pick it up and uh,obviously among the Egyptians they would look and they would say, "Who are these strange British people who are fighting us for the camel dung?"

Q: (unintelligible)

DF: The other thing with camel dung that was....(long pause)

Q: The other thing....

DF: One of the, Maskelyn really got involved, to prove his worth Maskelyn got involved in a lot of different projects very quickly after he arrived in the desert. One of them was that the British were trying to make uh, different sort of lines uh, trying to make different sort of mines to blow up the Germans tanks, and at one point Maskelyn created, orhelped create small explosives that looked like camel dung because it was known that Germans tank drivers, it was good luck to drive your tank over camel dung. So Maskelyn made these small mines that looked like camel dung,and the Germans would drive their tanks over it, they would blow up, they would blow up the track, put the tank out of action, and it became known that Maskelyn, that they were doing this, and there was an order that went out to the German tank drivers not to drive over camel dung. So then what Maskelyn started doing is he started making these things that looked like camel dung that a tank had already driven over, it had tracks in it, so when the tank drivers saw these things that had already been driven over, they knew they were safe, they drove over them, and again the tracks exploded.

[NFM: Amazing what you find when you do a search for "camel dung"!]

And why did the Germans think camel dung was lucky? Maybe the answer is to be found at the microbial level; (relevant part in English).

Dung and the CIA

When the CIA's secret gadget-makers invented a listening device for the Asian jungles, they disguised it so the enemy would not be tempted to pick it up and examine it: The device looked like tiger droppings.The guise worked. Who would touch such a thing? The fist-size, brown transmitter detected troop movements along the trails during fighting in Vietnam, a quiet success for a little-known group of researchers at the intelligence agency.--Tim Bridis, Philadelphia Inquirer (January 4, 2004)

Photo links

To see an attractive photograph (from Turkey) of this useful substance, click here, or link to some from ancient Syria! And some pix from Yassihoyuk: cakes, drying, and piles.

"Farm Uses Camel Dung for Environmental Clean-up" (Gulf News , Dubai, May 16, 2002)

In order to minimise the environmental impact of its oil-field operations, BP Sharjah has been using camel dung and grass clippings to clean up soil contaminated by oil or chemical spillage.

In a novel environmental exercise, BP Sharjah Oil Company has established an on site 'bioremediation' farm, the company's regional Outlook magazine has reported. Situated within the Sajaa Plant operational area, the farm treats any soil contaminated by accidental oil or chemical spillage.

"The treatment uses the natural bacteria found in the dung of locally grazing camels to degrade the hydrocarbon content of the soil, eventually leaving it non-hazardous," said a company statement.

See also "Llama Dung May Be Used to Clean Bolivia Water Supply" (National Geographic Society, April 18, 2003)

In Bolivia, water seeping from abandoned mines in the Andes is polluting the main water supply of La Paz, the capital city. But a team of researchers is developing a low-cost way to neutralize the acidic, metal-laden water through a highly unusual filter: llama droppings.

In a pilot study, the scientists used llama dung to treat run-off from a tin and silver mine that has killed organisms in an alpine lake and continues to pollute the La Paz water supply.

Guts, Germination, and Seeds
Andrew M. Sugden

Many plant species take advantage of the mobility of animals for the dispersal of pollen and seeds. A common form of seed dispersal is endozoochory, whereby animals ingest seeds and fruits and then pass the seeds in their feces; the seeds of some plants actually require passage through an animal gut in order to germinate. Pakeman et al. quantify this phenomenon in an ecological context by recording seed dispersal by rabbits and sheep in a variety of grazed habitats in Scotland, and by germinating seed from dung collected during the summer months. The seeds of almost 40% of the plant species recorded in these habitats were able to germinate successfully after passing through rabbits or sheep--a substantially higher proportion than previously thought. Regardless of habitat type, species with smaller seeds and those capable of persisting in a soil seedbank tended to predominate. -- AMS
Funct. Ecol. 16, 296 (2002)

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