ABSTRACT Livestock fecal remains provide an important source of information on past animal husbandry systems and dung use. A combined micromorphological and biomolecular investigation of dung deposits brings new perspectives into past landscape land use and animal husbandry strategies by providing seasonal-scale information on livestock dietary intake as well as intensity of dung deposition in penning spaces. We conducted microstratigraphic analyses and compound-specific carbon stable isotope analysis of plant n-alkanes of dung deposits associated with pastoral nomadic winter campsites in Mongolia, in order to explore the floral origin of graze ingested by livestock and evaluate its potential biomolecular signatures. Preliminary results show that δ13C values of plant n-alkanes were unusually depleted when compared to carbon isotope values of plant n-alkanes in soil control samples recovered from landscapes with minimal anthropic activity. We highlight the importance of multi-proxy ethnoarcheological studies in identifying biomarkers that convey information on pastoralist animal exploitation practices.

中文翻译：

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牧区游牧冬季营地（蒙古东部）植物正烷烃的碳同位素比和粪便堆积的显微地层分析

摘要 牲畜粪便残骸提供了有关过去畜牧系统和粪便使用的重要信息来源。粪便沉积物的微形态学和生物分子研究相结合，通过提供牲畜膳食摄入量以及围栏空间粪便沉积强度的季节性信息，为过去的景观土地利用和畜牧业战略带来了新的视角。我们对与蒙古牧区游牧冬季露营地相关的粪便沉积物的植物正烷烃进行了显微地层分析和化合物特异性碳稳定同位素分析，以探索牲畜摄入的草的花卉起源并评估其潜在的生物分子特征。初步结果表明，与从人类活动最小的景观中回收的土壤控制样品中植物正构烷烃的碳同位素值相比，植物正构烷烃的 δ13C 值异常耗尽。我们强调了多代理民族考古学研究在识别传达牧民动物开发实践信息的生物标志物方面的重要性。