Feces of the archaeological record is so direct an indicator. A process that preserves feces in a way that they may be analyzed later is called the Maillard reaction. This reaction creates a casing of sugar that preserves the feces from the elements. To extract and analyze the information contained within, researchers generally have to freeze the feces and grind it up into powder for analysis. Animal dung occasionally is used as a cement to make adobe mudbrick huts, or even in throwing sports such as cow pat throwing or camel dung throwing contests. Kopi Luwak (pronounced ), or civet coffee,
Metabolic waste excreta. Some mammals including humans excrete uric acid as a component of their urine but it is only a small amount. These compounds form during the catabolism of carbohydrates and lipids in condensation reactions, and in some other metabolic reactions of the amino acids. Oxygen is produced by plants and some bacteria in photosynthesis, while CO is a waste product of all animals and plants. Nitrogen gases are produced by denitrifying bacteria and as a waste product, and bacteria for decaying yield ammonia, as do most invertebrates and vertebrates. Water is the only liquid waste from animals and photosynthesizing plants.