coprolites
All Things Considered, April 3, 2008 · Archaeologists are abuzz over the discovery of several 14,000-year-old pieces of fossilized human excrement found in Oregon.
These coprolites, as they're called by experts, are remarkable for several reasons. For one thing, they're older than most artifacts left by the earliest Americans. For another, they contain DNA, which gives scientists a rare opportunity to learn about the first people to arrive in North America.
