Jurassic Poop
The new children’s book by Canadian science
writer Jacob Berkowitz reveals that America not only has the world’s
largest heap of ancient human leavings but that the study of coprolites, or
fossil feces, is literally re-writing American history, including who attended
the first Thanksgiving.
Available in your favorite museum shop
Twenty-five years ago American entomologist George Poinar’s work on ancient insects in amber inspired Michael Crichton’s futuristic thriller Jurassic Park. Now son Hendrik Poinar’s groundbreaking work has inspired the world’s first book on the science of fossil feces, Jurassic Poop.
The new children’s book by Canadian science writer Jacob Berkowitz reveals that America not only has the world’s largest heap of ancient human leavings but that the study of coprolites, or fossil feces, is literally re-writing American history, including who attended the first Thanksgiving.
“When I saw my first coprolite ten years ago, I thought no way, how could something as soft as poop fossilize?,” says Berkowitz. “But coprolites are found on every continent and from every geological time period. There’s literally tons of fossil poop out there, and it’s now recognized as priceless for helping scientists piece together the puzzle of ancient life.”
Jurassic Poop profiles the work of Hendrik Poinar, a professor at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Canada. He was the first ever to extract DNA from ancient feces.
“After being pooh-poohed by scientists for decades, coprolites have now been shown to be the best source of ancient DNA, better than bones and teeth,” says Berkowitz. Hendrik Poinar is now able to identify not only a pooper’s gender, but also critical genetic information that will help to uncover the very origins of modern humans.
Of course, if you’re a rockhound out hunting examples, you have to be really, really careful what you pick up!
Posted: Fri - November 17, 2006 at 07:52 AM