The Poop About Early Humans

Coprolites--fossilized poops--aren't only helpful in identifying the eating habits of 100-million-year old dinosaurs. Recently, researchers dug up some human coprolites in Oregon, and determined (via carbon dating) that they were about 14,340 years old. This is a mere blink of the eye by Jurassic standards, but it places the first humans in North America a full 1,000 years earlier than had previously been believed.

In this context, the location of the coprolites makes a lot of sense. Paleontologists believe the first modern humans crossed over the land bridge that once connected Asia with the northwestern tip of North America. Shortly afterward, these pioneers would have arrived at--and done their business in--modern-day Oregon, and from there spread further south and east.