Researchers have found the earliest evidence for dairy consumption in East Asia, dated to about 3,000 BC, a finding that offers insights into the arrival and evolution of dairy-based animal husbandry in prehistoric Mongolia.
The scientists, including those from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, said although pastoralism, or dairy-based animal husbandry, has been part eastern Eurasian Steppe culture for millennia, the eastward spread of dairying from its origin in southwest Asia is little understood.
In their current study, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, they analysed crusty deposits that can trap stains on the teeth called dental calculus from individuals ranging from the Early Bronze Age to the time period of the Mongol Empire.
According to the study, three-quarters of all individuals unearthed contained evidence that they had consumed dairy foods, revealing the widespread importance of this food source in both prehistoric and historic Mongolia.
The study, the researchers said, provides the earliest direct evidence for dairy consumption in East Asia, identified in an individual from the Afanasievo site of Shatar Chuluu, which dates to roughly 3,000 BC.
Analysis of DNA samples from this individual revealed genetic markers of non-native populations, the scientists said.
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They said the individual may have been part of the Western Steppe Herder populations, presenting Early Bronze Age Afanasievo migrations westward via the Russian Altai as a viable candidate for the introduction of dairy and domestic livestock into eastern Eurasia.
The scientists sequenced the milk proteins from the dental calculus, and determined which animal species were being used for dairy production, helping trace the progression of domestication, dairying, and pastoralism in the region.
"Modern Mongolians use cow, sheep, goat, yak, camel, horse and reindeer for milk today, yet when each of these species were first utilized for dairy in Mongolia remains unclear," said Shevan Wilkin, lead author of the study from Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
"What is clear is that the crucial renewable calories and hydration made available through the incorporation of dairying would have become essential across the arid and agriculturally challenging ancient Eastern Steppe," Wilkin said.
According to the researchers, the earliest individuals to show evidence of dairy consumption lived around 5,000 years ago and consumed milk from cattle, sheep, and goats.
At Bronze Age sites dated to after 1,200 BC, they found the first evidence of horse milk consumption, occurring at the same time as early evidence for horse bridling and riding, as well as the use of horses at ritual burial sites.
During the Mongol Empire around 1,200-1,400 AD, the scientists said, people also consumed the milk of camels.
"We are excited that through the analysis of proteins we are able to see the consumption of multiple different animal species, even sometimes in the same individual. This gives us a whole new insight into ancient dairying practices," said Jessica Hendy, another co-author of the study.
"Our findings suggest that the incorporation of horses into dairy pastoralism in Eastern Eurasia was closely linked to a broader economic transformation in the use of horses for riding, movement, and diet," said William Taylor of the University of Colorado-Boulder, another of the study's co-authors.
The researchers believe that future studies will examine individuals from previous time periods.
"In order to form a clearer picture of the origins of dairying in this region, we need to understand the impact of western steppe herder migrations and confirm whether dairying was occurring in Mongolia prior to their arrival," Wilkin said.