But extracting reliable information from each line of evidence proved more complicated than it initially appeared.

The 2008 Discovery and What It Claimed

The 2008 paper by M.

Thomas P.

Gilbert and colleagues, published in Science, reported results from the analysis of coprolites recovered from Paisley Caves during the Jenkins excavations.

The paper focused specifically on specimens from the deepest layers of the site — layers that Jenkins and his team believed, based on stratigraphic analysis and associated radiocarbon dates, to represent occupation during the late Pleistocene.

The analytical work was conducted at multiple independent ancient DNA laboratories — a methodological precaution designed to reduce the risk of contamination and to allow cross-checking of results.