Abstract:
This thesis sets out to explore the possibilities of coprolite analysis in New Zealand prehistoric archaeology. Two types of faecal material are analysed: dog coprolites containing mainly fish bone fragments, and human coprolites which contained mainly plant remains. The initial strategy was to investigate all possible means of extracting data. Decisions were then made as to which approaches would be most viable and rewarding and these were followed up. It was decided, for example, not to attempt to identify all the plant remains in the human coprolites since the amount of technical skill required, together with the time it would take to collect specimens and data on the plant types, would have rendered such an undertaking impossible within the scope of this thesis. On the other hand the analysis of the bone remains in the dog coprolites was extensive and the analysis of these coprolites may be considered to be complete.
