The question of prehistoric dietary practices has become an important one. Coprolites (desiccated or mineralized feces) are a unique resource for analyzing prehistoric diet because their constituents are mainly the undigested or incompletely digested remains of food items that were actually eaten. Thus they contain direct evidence of dietary intake (Bryant 1974b, 1990; Spaulding 1974; Fry 1985; Scott 1987; Sobolik 1991a, 1994a, 1994b). In addition they can reveal important information on the health, nutrition, possible food preparation methods, and overall food economy and subsistence of a group of people (Sobolik 1991b; Reinhard and Bryant 1992).

Coprolites are mainly preserved in dry, arid environments or in the frozen arctic (Carbone and Keel 1985). Caves and enclosed areas are the best places for preserved samples and there are also samples associated with mummies. Unfortunately, conditions that help provide such samples are not observed in all archaeological sites.

Coprolite analysis is important in the determination of prehistoric diets for two significant reasons. First, the constituents of a coprolite are mainly the remains of intentionally eaten food items. This type of precise sample cannot be replicated as accurately from animal or plant debris recovered from archaeological sites. Second, coprolites tend to preserve small, fragile remains, mainly because of their compact nature, which tends to keep the constituents separated from the site matrix. These remains are typically recovered by normal coprolitic processing techniques, which involve screening with micron mesh screens rather than the larger screens used during archaeological excavations.