Ancient Cheese Offering Found: Over 3500 Years Ago, Food Was Prepared for the Afterlife With Cheese as the Highlight
The quest for the world's oldest cheese isn't straightforward, with evidence suggesting humans have been chowing down on dairy products for millennia.
Archeologists digging up the dirt across the globe have found milk residues in ancient pots, indicating our foamy love affair began a long time ago. For example, folks in Britain were sipping on the stuff as far back as 4000BC. But it gets even earlier - milk was half-empty in Anatolia, a farming hotspot in Turkey, as early as 7000BC during the Neolithic period.
TheAnatolian folk weren't exactly homebodies. Their milk fat traces are few and far between in the ground, but the high number of shards from their pots have led scientists to speculate they were making cheese to make their dairy last longer.
Transitioning milk to cheese also helped decrease the amount of lactose, which was sorta a buzzkill for our ancestors, who were typically lactose intolerant. But fear not, some folks started producing lactase, an enzyme that chops down lactose into other sugars, around 3,000 years ago.
A study in 2023 by the University of York revealed protein structures in old pots from Poland that were most likely remnants of cheese made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.
Although the oldest cheese pieces discovered so far are a mere 3,500 years old, they were found in the necks of Bronze Age mummies in Xiaohe Cemetery in northwest China. Scientists analyzed the specimens and found these were kefir (bacteria-fermented milk) cheese. DNA from different bacterial and yeast species resided in the cheese, including Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens and Pichia kudriavzevii, which we still find in kefirs today.
These lumps might have been kefir starter grains - little colonies of bacteria analyzed to initiate cheese fermentation and perhaps seen as a valuable treasure to take into an afterlife.
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Enrichment Insights:The earliest solid cheese was unearthed in an Egyptian tomb around 3,200 years ago, while cheese residues dating back approximately 2,900 BC were found in Egyptian tombs. In Xinjiang, China, 3,600-year-old cheese fragments were discovered next to a mummified body, showcasing early cheese fermentation practices in that region's ancient history [2][3][4]. The fabrication of cheese has roots predating recorded history and may have originated independently in various places, such as Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa [2].
- Intriguingly, the history of cheese dates back to ancient times, with traces found as early as 7000BC in Anatolia, Turkey, suggesting that the art of cheese-making predates recorded history.
- Science sheds light on the health benefits of traditional cheese consumption, as it was originally made to reduce lactose and prolong storage, catering to our ancestors who were typically lactose intolerant.
- Delving into the link between health-and-wellness and food-and-drink, cheese production has been linked to advances in nutrition and lifestyle, as it allowed for preservation of an essential food source over longer periods.
- Hailing from the realm of science, a study conducted by the University of York in 2023 revealed protein structures in old pots from Poland that were remnants of cheese made from cow, goat, or sheep milk, showcasing the global spread of cheese-making practices.
- Seeking knowledge about the ancient world, we invite you to explore fascinating science facts, including the history of cheese, on our ultimate fun facts page or by reaching out through our website or social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and more.
