Charlton, Sophy Jessica Laura, Ramsøe, Abigail Daisy, Collins, Matthew James orcid.org/0000-0003-4226-5501 et al. (4 more authors) (2019) New insights into Neolithic milk consumption through proteomic analysis of dental calculus. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 6183–6196. ISSN 1866-9557
Abstract
There has long been debate over the origins of dairy consumption within European populations. Whilst it was previously assumed that lactase persistence (LP) was under positive selection following the advent of agriculture, recent genetic studies of prehistoric human remains have revealed LP may have only emerged in Europe in the last 4000 years. These findings stand in contrast to organic residue analysis of Neolithic pottery indicating the utilisation of dairy products, and zooarchaeological mortality profiles consistent with dairying herds at Neolithic sites. The recent discovery of the milk protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG) within human dental calculus presents a new method via which to explore dairy product consumption in the archaeological past. Here, we apply shotgun proteomic analysis to dental calculus samples from three British Neolithic sites, revealing the earliest identification of BLG in human dental calculus to date. The presence of BLG peptides in individuals who are unlikely to possess LP provides new insight into dairying in the British Neolithic, suggesting the potential processing of milk by Neolithic populations to reduce the lactose content of dairy products.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2019 |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Archaeology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 11 Sep 2019 11:10 |
Last Modified: | 16 Feb 2025 00:08 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00911-7 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s12520-019-00911-7 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:150694 |
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