## 4 Conclusions  
This paper highlights the integration of diverse analytical methods from the geo-sciences, such as thin-section micromorphology and microfossil analyses, and including geochemical and biomolecular indicators, to establishing ethoarchaeological comparative records of livestock dung, a material often difficult to detect using conventional excavation and sampling procedures in most sites. The arid and semi-arid regions of the study areas provide favourable conditions for the preservation of archaeological faecal materials via rapid desiccation [73], particularly within earthen architecture, which shelters these remains from environmental agents and erosion, and in middens, where rapid burial prevents the action of faecal decomposers such as mites, fungi, and flies [74]. The visibility of dung and coprolites in these contexts depends on a variety of factors, including composition and formation processes, and pre- and post-depositional taphonomic alterations. Whereas ethnographic research has proven valuable in the study areas for establishing a comparative framework of reference with the materials recovered from archaeological contexts, improving our understanding of dung deposition, activities, seasonality, and burial conditions, methodological techniques such as pXRF for detecting the presence of phosphates in sediments have yielded promising results for the rapid identification of faecal materials during excavations [16; 17]. Similarly, the examples from these core regions suggest that rapid screening of suspected dung deposits through smear spherulite slides could improve the frequency with which herbivore faecal materials are being detected during archaeological fieldwork [29]. Due to the large number of components frequently contained in archaeological faecal matter, from plant remains to parasites, multiproxy approaches are the most suitable for extracting all the information contained within them to help in our understanding of past diets and ecological strategies. However, as this review has shown, there is currently no general agreement on how to approach faecal residues methodologically, and archaeologists have to choose from a wide range of analytical techniques based on research questions, a methodological variability that often makes comparative studies between sites and regions difficult. Micro-contextual methods such as thin-section micromorphology are particularly useful for examining the depositional context of dung and have proven crucial for understanding continuity and change in the use of space within settlements over time and animal management strategies, as well as the impact of burial conditions on the preservation of faecal materials [43; 44; 45]. Phytoliths are particularly abundant in archaeological faecal matter from the study areas, especially in herbivore dung, and are substantially resistant to heating and to a variety of soil pH and burial environments. Phytolith analysis has revealed important dietary and seasonal patterns in the study areas, often geographically specific [15; 17; 18; 43], although their presence in faecal matter varies significantly depending on which plants were consumed and which plant parts were ingested, since phytolith production differs notably between species and plant parts. Recent developments in archaeological science have led to the increasing application of biomolecular techniques, including lipids, proteins, and DNA analyses [33; 34; 35; 37; 38; 75]. These rapidly emerging techniques have not yet been extensively applied to faecal materials in the study regions, in spite of their potential for shedding light into dietary patterns, health conditions, and gut biomes at very high resolution. A frequent challenge is the potential cross-contamination during sample collection and the availability of suitable preservation and storage conditions. Future research needs to focus on improving these two aspects to allow for the standard application of highly sensitive multi-proxy analyses to faecal remains.