An Ethno-Microarchaeological Approach to Developing a Multi-Proxy Methodology for Identifying Human Use of Dung as Fuel and Construction Material

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Animal dung has often been regarded as a secondary by-product of domestication, despite increasing evidence showing that humans recognized its value as fuel and fertilizer and used it both before and during the domestication of animals. Due to its organic nature, animal dung does not preserve well, requiring the use of multi-proxy scientific methods for its identification. Ethnoarchaeology can assist archaeologists in developing such methodologies within contemporary and recently abandoned contexts familiar to local communities, providing insights into the formation and degradation processes that affect the preservation of dung remains. By integrating traditional knowledge, we can further connect human behavior with its material traces, creating frameworks for interpreting archaeological sites. In this paper, I will present two examples of how these approaches can be applied, specifically in relation to the human use of dung as fuel and as a construction material.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Modelling Human Behaviour through Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeology as Long-Term Traditional Knowledge (L-TeK)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52883