Phytolith and Calcitic Spherulite Indicators from Modern Reference Animal Dung from Mediterranean Island Ecosystems: Menorca, Balearic Islands
Source abstract
Abstract
This study illustrates the contribution of plant and faecal microfossil records to interdisciplinary approaches on the identification, composition, taphonomy and seasonality of livestock dung materials. The focus is on the taphonomy of opal phytoliths and calcitic dung spherulites embedded within modern faecal pellets collected from pasture grounds and pens from a range of animals, including cattle, sheep and pigs from three different farms and seasons of the year in Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Modern reference materials provide comparative plant and dung microfossil indicators on factors affecting the formation, composition, preservation and decay of animal faeces, as well as on the diverse environmental and anthropogenic aspects influencing these. The reported results show relevant changes in phytolith and spherulite composition according to animal species and age, livestock management, seasonality, and grazing and foddering regimes. Both microfossil records provide fundamental information on taphonomic issues that are understudied, such as the variation in the digestibility among different species, including under investigated animals such as pigs, as well on the seasonality of plant and faecal microfossils that are excreted with dung as an important material for reconstructing human-environment interactions which is commonly overlooked in archaeology.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Archaeology of Social Dynamics (2017SGR 995), Institución Milà y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades (IMF), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 08001 Barcelona, Spain
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AB, UK
Department of Prehistory, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
Museu de Menorca, 07701 Mahon, Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Institut Menorquí d’Estudis, 07701 Mahon, Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Funding
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Marie Sklodowska-Curie · Consell Insular de Menorca
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