World's earliest evidence of dairy consumption found

New Delhi, Sept. 11 -- Researchers claim to have found the earliest direct evidence of milk consumption anywhere in the world, in the teeth of 6,000-year-old British farmers. The team, led by archaeologists at the University of York in the UK, identified a milk protein called beta lactoglobulin (BLG) entombed in the mineralised dental plaque of seven individuals who lived in the Neolithic period.

The human dental plaque samples in the study, published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, are the oldest to be analysed for ancient proteins to date globally and the study represents the earliest identification of the milk whey protein BLG so far.

Tracing signs

The Neolithic period in Britain ran from 4,000 to 2,400 BC ...