The Things We Left Behind - Coprolites of Fur and Fangs.
The Things We Left Behind - Coprolites of Fur and Fangs.
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
A powerful windstorm—possibly a tornado—came through our area last night, leaving trees down everywhere. We were fortunate: no structural damage to the house, though at least five trees now lie scattered across the property, fallen wherever gravity chose to place them.
While navigating that mess, I stumbled across an article about coprolites, which felt oddly appropriate for the day.
Back in the 1960s, researchers from Texas A&M University collected several human coprolites, fossilized human feces, from Conejo Shelter in Texas. They did what researchers sometimes do with unusual finds: carefully labeled them and put them into storage.
Decades later, those samples were rediscovered. (Imagine being the person who opens that box.) They were finally analyzed, and one in particular turned out to be… memorable.
Carbon-dated to around 1460–1520, the sample contained the remains of a rodent that had been eaten whole and uncooked—fur, bones, and all. Even more astonishing, it also included the bones, scales, and fangs of a rattlesnake, suggesting that it too had been consumed raw and intact.
Why anyone would do this remains unclear. Researchers have speculated that it may have been part of a religious or ritual practice. What we do know is that both animals passed through this individual’s digestive system. Since no human remains were found nearby, we can reasonably assume the meal, however alarming, was survived.
So far, this discovery is unique in the archaeological record.
Which makes me wonder: do the researchers qualify for some sort of award?
And more importantly, would they actually want it?
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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