Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus
Milk is a major food of global economic importance, and its consumption is regarded as a classic example of gene-culture evolution. Humans have exploited animal milk as a food resource for at least 8500 years, but the origins, spread, and scale of dairying remain poorly understood. Indirect lines of...
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Online Access: | https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/direct-evidence-of-milk-consumption-from-ancient-human-dental-calculus(61781845-41ef-4deb-8622-416205711a68).html https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/163958979/Warinner_2014_Direct_evidence.pdf |
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ftcopenhagenunip:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/61781845-41ef-4deb-8622-416205711a68 2024-02-27T08:41:11+00:00 Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus Warinner, C. Hendy, J. Speller, C. Cappellini, Enrico Fischer, R. Trachsel, C. Arneborg, J. Lynnerup, Niels Craig, O. E. Swallow, D. M. Fotakis, Anna Katerina Jersie-Christensen, Rosa Rakownikow Olsen, Jesper Velgaard Liebert, A. Montalva, N. Fiddyment, S. Charlton, S. Mackie, Meaghan Emma Canci, A. Bouwman, A. Rühli, F. Gilbert, M Thomas P Collins, M. J. 2014 application/pdf https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/direct-evidence-of-milk-consumption-from-ancient-human-dental-calculus(61781845-41ef-4deb-8622-416205711a68).html https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/163958979/Warinner_2014_Direct_evidence.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Warinner , C , Hendy , J , Speller , C , Cappellini , E , Fischer , R , Trachsel , C , Arneborg , J , Lynnerup , N , Craig , O E , Swallow , D M , Fotakis , A K , Jersie-Christensen , R R , Olsen , J V , Liebert , A , Montalva , N , Fiddyment , S , Charlton , S , Mackie , M E , Canci , A , Bouwman , A , Rühli , F , Gilbert , M T P & Collins , M J 2014 , ' Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus ' , Scientific Reports , vol. 4 , 7104 . https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 article 2014 ftcopenhagenunip https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 2024-02-01T00:03:16Z Milk is a major food of global economic importance, and its consumption is regarded as a classic example of gene-culture evolution. Humans have exploited animal milk as a food resource for at least 8500 years, but the origins, spread, and scale of dairying remain poorly understood. Indirect lines of evidence, such as lipid isotopic ratios of pottery residues, faunal mortality profiles, and lactase persistence allele frequencies, provide a partial picture of this process; however, in order to understand how, where, and when humans consumed milk products, it is necessary to link evidence of consumption directly to individuals and their dairy livestock. Here we report the first direct evidence of milk consumption, the whey protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG), preserved in human dental calculus from the Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE) to the present day. Using protein tandem mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that BLG is a species-specific biomarker of dairy consumption, and we identify individuals consuming cattle, sheep, and goat milk products in the archaeological record. We then apply this method to human dental calculus from Greenland's medieval Norse colonies, and report a decline of this biomarker leading up to the abandonment of the Norse Greenland colonies in the 15(th) century CE. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland University of Copenhagen: Research Greenland Scientific Reports 4 1 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Copenhagen: Research |
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ftcopenhagenunip |
language |
English |
description |
Milk is a major food of global economic importance, and its consumption is regarded as a classic example of gene-culture evolution. Humans have exploited animal milk as a food resource for at least 8500 years, but the origins, spread, and scale of dairying remain poorly understood. Indirect lines of evidence, such as lipid isotopic ratios of pottery residues, faunal mortality profiles, and lactase persistence allele frequencies, provide a partial picture of this process; however, in order to understand how, where, and when humans consumed milk products, it is necessary to link evidence of consumption directly to individuals and their dairy livestock. Here we report the first direct evidence of milk consumption, the whey protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG), preserved in human dental calculus from the Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE) to the present day. Using protein tandem mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that BLG is a species-specific biomarker of dairy consumption, and we identify individuals consuming cattle, sheep, and goat milk products in the archaeological record. We then apply this method to human dental calculus from Greenland's medieval Norse colonies, and report a decline of this biomarker leading up to the abandonment of the Norse Greenland colonies in the 15(th) century CE. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Warinner, C. Hendy, J. Speller, C. Cappellini, Enrico Fischer, R. Trachsel, C. Arneborg, J. Lynnerup, Niels Craig, O. E. Swallow, D. M. Fotakis, Anna Katerina Jersie-Christensen, Rosa Rakownikow Olsen, Jesper Velgaard Liebert, A. Montalva, N. Fiddyment, S. Charlton, S. Mackie, Meaghan Emma Canci, A. Bouwman, A. Rühli, F. Gilbert, M Thomas P Collins, M. J. |
spellingShingle |
Warinner, C. Hendy, J. Speller, C. Cappellini, Enrico Fischer, R. Trachsel, C. Arneborg, J. Lynnerup, Niels Craig, O. E. Swallow, D. M. Fotakis, Anna Katerina Jersie-Christensen, Rosa Rakownikow Olsen, Jesper Velgaard Liebert, A. Montalva, N. Fiddyment, S. Charlton, S. Mackie, Meaghan Emma Canci, A. Bouwman, A. Rühli, F. Gilbert, M Thomas P Collins, M. J. Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
author_facet |
Warinner, C. Hendy, J. Speller, C. Cappellini, Enrico Fischer, R. Trachsel, C. Arneborg, J. Lynnerup, Niels Craig, O. E. Swallow, D. M. Fotakis, Anna Katerina Jersie-Christensen, Rosa Rakownikow Olsen, Jesper Velgaard Liebert, A. Montalva, N. Fiddyment, S. Charlton, S. Mackie, Meaghan Emma Canci, A. Bouwman, A. Rühli, F. Gilbert, M Thomas P Collins, M. J. |
author_sort |
Warinner, C. |
title |
Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
title_short |
Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
title_full |
Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
title_fullStr |
Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
title_sort |
direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/direct-evidence-of-milk-consumption-from-ancient-human-dental-calculus(61781845-41ef-4deb-8622-416205711a68).html https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/163958979/Warinner_2014_Direct_evidence.pdf |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
Warinner , C , Hendy , J , Speller , C , Cappellini , E , Fischer , R , Trachsel , C , Arneborg , J , Lynnerup , N , Craig , O E , Swallow , D M , Fotakis , A K , Jersie-Christensen , R R , Olsen , J V , Liebert , A , Montalva , N , Fiddyment , S , Charlton , S , Mackie , M E , Canci , A , Bouwman , A , Rühli , F , Gilbert , M T P & Collins , M J 2014 , ' Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus ' , Scientific Reports , vol. 4 , 7104 . https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
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4 |
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1 |
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1792048439054303232 |