Guest guest Posted January 29, 2003 Report Share Posted January 29, 2003 http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993310 The World's No.1 Science & Technology News Service Cavemen's taste for milk revealed 22:00 27 January 03 NewScientist.com news service The image of our cavemen ancestors as wild hunters who enjoyed no better meal than flesh torn from their latest kill has been dented by new archaeological research. Chemical analysis of 6000-year-old pottery shards shows ancient Britons also had a taste for cow's milk and goat's cheese. " This is the first direct evidence for widespread dairying at prehistoric sites anywhere in the world, " says Evershed, professor of biogeochemistry at the University of Bristol, UK. Archaeologists had previously uncovered a few objects that suggested dairying, such as suspected cheese strainers, but nothing unambiguous. Until now, the earliest proof of dairying was a picture of a Sumerian frieze in Baghdad Museum showing milking 4500 years ago. " And in Britain we had no proof till pictures and writing in Roman times, " Evershed told New Scientist. Second revolution The findings will shed a new light on the diet, health and economics of Neolithic humans. Humans first domesticated animals for their meat about 10,000 years ago, probably in the Middle East. Evershed thinks a second revolution, in which animals were used for milk and wool, may have happened around 7000 years ago. ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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