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World's Oldest Cheese Found On 3,800-Year-Old Mummies Buried In China
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/01/worlds-oldest-cheese-mummies-china_n_4880342.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063
Yellow chunks of the world's oldest "cheese" may have been discovered on the bodies of mummies buried in China's Taklamakan Desert.
The mummies, which are each about 3,800 years old, were buried with hunks of the dairy treat, presumably a tasty snack for the buried to enjoy in the afterlife. This particular cheese was also simple to make, nutritious and easily digestible, according to the study.
"Despite being extraordinary simple, it possessed the necessary qualities for supporting the economic expansion of ruminant animal herding into Eastern Eurasia," the authors write in the paper, which was published online Feb. 18 in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
The mummies, which are each about 3,800 years old, were buried with hunks of the dairy treat, presumably a tasty snack for the buried to enjoy in the afterlife. This particular cheese was also simple to make, nutritious and easily digestible, according to the study.
"Despite being extraordinary simple, it possessed the necessary qualities for supporting the economic expansion of ruminant animal herding into Eastern Eurasia," the authors write in the paper, which was published online Feb. 18 in the Journal of Archaeological Science.