If you can’t ask the dead what they ate, then what? Carrie Straight 05.03.01 You can tell a lot about a person by the garbage they leave behind. For instance, archeologists found some human feces (poop) in a cave in Texas in 1974. Scientists looked at the DNA contained within the feces to figure out if it came from people and what they were eating.     DNA is contained in every living thing. It is like a fingerprint, but can show how living things are related. For example, you and your brother/sister have DNA that is similar, but slightly different. If you had an identical twin, your DNA would be exactly the same. You and your best friend have similar DNA because you are humans. People from Asia and Africa have slightly different DNA because they are from different areas. Humans have very different DNA than plants, and from other animals. So, scientists can use DNA in feces to discover whether the feces was from a human and, if so, what these ancient humans had for dinner. The DNA in ancient feces showed that these people ate sunflowers, cacti, agave and yucca, hackberry, acorns, antelope, rabbit, sheep, fish, squirrel, and rodents. Poinar, Hendrik N., Melanie Kuch, Kristin D. Sobolik, Ian Barnes, Artur B. Stankiewicz, Tomasz Kuder, W. Geofferey Spaulding, Vaughn M. Bryant, Alan Cooper, and Svante Pääbo. 2001. A molecular analysis of dietary diversity from three archaic Native Americans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 98(8): 4317-4322. ©2001 The Aurora Collection, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Site Development by: Interactive Multimedia. Inc.