Our
hunter-gatherer roots are something that still has a lingering attraction to
many as it seems to signify independence. However, in the early days of our
development it required a deal of cooperation if we think about the hunting
part. But sometime after about 10,000years ago we began (slowly) to see the light.
Farming
became a job opportunity. Organizing crops? Well, yes, but the big advance was
domesticating animals. Now one could have Sunday Brunch walking around outside
your hovel. Clearly one needed more than one and from there to the herd with
the next understanding that the babies were more tender than the oldies, so now
there is a quandary.
Farmers
of all those thousands of years ago, like farmers today, seem to come with a
‘careful’ streak. So what to do with the milk after the babies were eaten,
whether of cows, sheep, goats, or horses? You see all those thousands of years
ago, adult humans were all lactose intolerant.
But
of course technology came to their aid about 9,000 years ago in parts of
Turkey, a little bit later in North Africa ending up in Britain about 6,000
years ago. The milk was fermented to make yogurt and cheese which made farming
a really successful way of life (1, 2).
The
most recent evidence comes from digs in Libya where bits of pottery had milk
fat products remaining, and after 8,000 year they are a bit cheesy. Cheese is a
great way to store your protein and fats and is easy to take with you on little
excursions to your favorite cave to complete your rock art showing pastoral
scenes of cows and people with pots tending the herds (2).
- http://news.discovery.com/history/milk-ancient-africans-120620.html
- http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7403/full/nature11186.html
