Poop Museum to Open Fall 2012
Did you know that there’s a branch of science devoted to the study of poop? Scatology is the study of feces or poop. Scientists can learn about the animal’s diet, health, DNA and behavior by studying their poop. The scientific word for poop that has been fossilized is “Coprolites.”
Ancient coprolite
We will have a Poop Museum on site this fall. Here are some fascinating historical facts about poop from the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
The oldest known human poop or “corprolite” in North America was discovered in Oregon’s Paisley Cave. The fossilized poop is about 14,000 years old and contains squirrel bones, bison hair, fish scales, sunflowers and protein from birds and dogs. This means that the person probably ate squirrel, bison, fish, sunflowers, birds and dogs.
Dinosaur poop has been discovered in Saskatchewan Canada. The coprolite is 20 inches long and weighs over 15 pounds. The poop was packed with bone fragments and is believed to be from a T Rex. Yikes! I would not have wanted to be around when T Rex was going to the bathroom.
Next week we’re going to talk about the 101 uses of poop. In the meantime, plan to visit Carolyn’s Country Cousins to check out their poop museum this fall.
