Stefan Mileschin

Do we blame it on the dog?

Researchers have developed a new machine-learning algorithm that can determine whether a human or a dog deposited ancient excrement.

Ancient pooh can offer archaeologists insights into dietary patterns, parasite evolution, winning after dinner conversation and more. The only problem is that it can be hard to spot the difference between a dog and a human.

The issue is that dogs and humans tend to live in the same spot and the dung from both are found at archaeological dig sites. We guess some of it on the sandals of humans.

Telling the two apart is not “black and white”, and now Maxime Borry, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany has used machine learning AI systems to spot the difference.

Borry and her colleagues at the Max Planck Institute teamed up with scientists from Harvard University and the University of Oklahoma to develop a machine learning algorithm.

Dubbed coproID, short for coprolite identification -- works by combining analysis of ancient host DNA with machine learning software trained to differentiate between the bacteria in the gut microbiomes of dogs and humans.

https://fudzilla.com/news/ai/50684-a...ut-who-dung-it