Sophy Charlton

New insights into Neolithic milk consumption using proteins

Sophy Charlton§, Matthew Collins£, Oliver Craig£, Michelle Alexander£, Camilla Speller£

§ Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London; £ BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York

There has long been debate over the origins of milk drinking and dairy product consumption within European populations. Whilst it has previously been assumed that LP was positively selected for following the advent of agriculture – as the ability to consume raw milk may have provided a selective advantage due to its nutritional qualities – recent genetic studies of prehistoric human remains have revealed that lactase persistence (LP) may have only emerged in Europe in the last 4,000 years, and that Neolithic populations would likely not have had LP. This is in contrast to organic residue analysis of Neolithic pottery indicating the utilisation of dairy, and zooarchaeological mortality profiles indicative of dairying herds recovered from Neolithic sites. The recent discovery of the preservation of the milk protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG) in human dental calculus however presents a new way in which we can explore dairy use in the archaeological past – and provides direct evidence of milk consumption. Here, we present the results of proteomic analysis of calculus samples from a number of British Neolithic sites which has revealed the presence of BLG peptides – but in individuals who are unlikely to have had LP. The protein results can help us to explore the use of dairy in the British Neolithic, potential processing of milk by Neolithic populations, and possible production of new forms of dairy products.