U. Oregon archaeologist Dennis Jenkins has heard all the poop jokes before. Some of them he won’t even repeat.

“I’ve heard a bunch of them, let me assure you,” Jenkins said. “All of my friends are ruthless when it comes to this stuff.”

The friendly ridicule is the result of findings made by Jenkins and a team of international researchers, who uncovered and identified samples of human feces that date to more than 14,000 years ago - older than any human DNA previously found in the Americas.

But the discovery is also prompting international attention from other scientists and media. During the past two weeks, Jenkins alone has kept a tally of 32 media interviews he’s done since the findings were released, and he’s been involved in at least two documentary films about the subject.

“It’s good to feel like you’ve done good work,” Jenkins said. “But it’s very ephemeral. It’s news, and when it’s no longer news, then everyone will go back and I’ll be able to go back to work.”