Response to Comment by Goldberg et al. on "DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America"
Morten Rasmussen,1,*
Linda Scott Cummings,2,*
M. Thomas P. Gilbert,1
Vaughn Bryant,3
Colin Smith,4
Dennis L. Jenkins,5
Eske Willerslev1,
Goldberg
et al. use data from micromorphological and Fourier
transform infrared analyses to argue that Paisley Cave pre-Clovis
coprolite 1374-5/5D-31-2 is of herbivore, rather than human,
origin. We argue that the diagnostic capability of the techniques
used by Goldberg
et al. are limited, and we present new genetic
data that support our original claims.
2 Paleo Research Institute, 2675 Youngfield Street, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
3 Palynology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University (TAMU 4352) College Station, TX 77843–4352, USA.
4 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
5 Museum of Natural and Cultural History, 1224 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403–1224, USA.
* These authors contributed equally to this work.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ewillerslev{at}bio.ku.dk
