"Evidence of 7,200 years of cheese found in Croatia"

An international team of researchers has found evidence of fermented dairy products – soft cheeses and yogurts – dating back to around 7,200 years ago. "This is turning back the manufacturing of 4,000-year-old cheese," said Sarah B McClure, associate professor at Pennsylvania State University in the United States. According to research published in the magazine PLOS One, the presence of milk in the pottery of the Dalmatian coast of Croatia is observed 7,700 years ago, 500 years earlier than fermented products.

The DNA analysis of the populations of this area indicates that the adults were lactose intolerant, but the children remained able to consume milk up to the age of ten. "This is the first documented evidence of lipid residues in fermented dairy products from the Mediterranean region and among the oldest documented to date," said Mr. McClure. "Cheese production is important enough for people to make new types of cookware – we are witnessing this cultural shift," said McClure.

When only meat, fish and milk residues are found in pottery in the early Neolithic period, pottery is a style called "impressed items" found throughout the region. About 500 years later, in the Middle Neolithic, another style of pottery using different technologies existed – the Danilo pottery – which defines the era in this area and includes plates and bowls. There are three subtypes of Danilo pottery. Figulines represent five percent of this type and are highly cooked and buffed, often slipped and decorated.

All these potteries contained milk residues. Other Danilo products contained animal fats and freshwater fish residues. The Rhyta, which are walking vessels with round bodies and often have an animal or human form, have large openings on the sides and separate handles. The researchers found that three of the four rhyta in their sample had traces of cheese. The third category of Danilo products is the sieve, which is often used in the manufacture of cheese to filter the treated milk when it separates into curds and whey.

Three of the four sieves in the sample showed signs of secondary milk processing into cheese or other fermented dairy products. The researchers examined the pottery of two sites in Croatia in Dalmatia – Pokrovnik and Danilo Bitinj. Whenever possible, they selected samples of unwashed pottery, but because some pottery forms are rarer, they used washed samples for sieves. The researchers tested the pottery residue for carbon isotopes, which can indicate the type of fat and distinguish between meat, fish, milk and fermented milk products. They used radiocarbon dating on bones and seeds to determine the age of the pottery.