Health and wellbeing in the ancient world
1.1 Coprolites: finding out more
Figure 2 shows a human coprolite – a preserved piece of human faeces. This one is Viking, held at Jorvik Viking Centre, and is known as the ‘Lloyds Bank coprolite’.
Figure 2 A coprolite
A preserved piece of human faeces known as a coprolite.
Activity 1
- Use the internet to find out more about this human stool. Why is it so special? What diseases can you learn about through this object?
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- Bearing in mind that Activity 1 in Week 1, Defining health, started with one image from fifth century BCE Greece, and another from fourth century CE Roman Sicily, how relevant do you think this stool from the Viking period is to understanding the ancient Greeks and Romans?
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OpenLearn - Health and wellbeing in the ancient world
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