Med hjälp av biomarkörer, härstammande från mänskliga fekalier kan man via sedimentprov från Liland-sjön (eng Lake Liland) på Lofoten studera den mänskliga bosättningen i området. Biomarkörerna ger en bättre datering på när människan kom till området än många andra mer traditionella metoder.
Paleoclimatologists have long used markers in lakebed sediments, such as charcoal from humans' fires and pollen from cultivated plants, as a natural archive of environmental changes to estimate when humans first began having an impact. But these indirect indicators must be used with care when reconstructing the history of a place because it's not always clear that they indicate human activity in the same area.
By contrast, the presence of a molecular biomarker directly linked to humans, one transmitted through their bowel movements, offers "a strong human signal," as the authors put it, one that can be dated with "excellent chronological control.
Using Biomarkers from Prehistoric Human Feces to Track Settlement and Agriculture
