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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ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:101475 2024-09-15T18:09:54+00:00 Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus Warinner, C Hendy, J Speller, C Cappellini, E Fischer, R Trachsel, C Arneborg, J Lynnerup, N Craig, O E Swallow, D M Fotakis, A Christensen, R J Olsen, J V Liebert, A Montalva, N Fiddyment, S Charlton, S Mackie, M Canci, A Bouwman, Abigail Rühli, Frank Gilbert, M T P Collins, M J 2014 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/101475/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/101475/1/srep07104.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-101475 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 eng eng Nature Publishing Group https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/101475/1/srep07104.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-101475 doi:10.1038/srep07104 info:pmid/25429530 urn:issn:2045-2322 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; Christensen, R J; Olsen, J V; Liebert, A; Montalva, N; Fiddyment, S; Charlton, S; Mackie, M; Canci, A; Bouwman, Abigail; Rühli, Frank; Gilbert, M T P; Collins, M J (2014). Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus. Scientific Reports, 4:7104. Functional Genomics Center Zurich Institute of Evolutionary Medicine 570 Life sciences biology 610 Medicine & health Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2014 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-10147510.1038/srep07104 2024-08-14T00:23:57Z 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 Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
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University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
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ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Functional Genomics Center Zurich Institute of Evolutionary Medicine 570 Life sciences biology 610 Medicine & health |
spellingShingle |
Functional Genomics Center Zurich Institute of Evolutionary Medicine 570 Life sciences biology 610 Medicine & health Warinner, C Hendy, J Speller, C Cappellini, E Fischer, R Trachsel, C Arneborg, J Lynnerup, N Craig, O E Swallow, D M Fotakis, A Christensen, R J Olsen, J V Liebert, A Montalva, N Fiddyment, S Charlton, S Mackie, M Canci, A Bouwman, Abigail Rühli, Frank Gilbert, M T P Collins, M J Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus |
topic_facet |
Functional Genomics Center Zurich Institute of Evolutionary Medicine 570 Life sciences biology 610 Medicine & health |
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, E Fischer, R Trachsel, C Arneborg, J Lynnerup, N Craig, O E Swallow, D M Fotakis, A Christensen, R J Olsen, J V Liebert, A Montalva, N Fiddyment, S Charlton, S Mackie, M Canci, A Bouwman, Abigail Rühli, Frank Gilbert, M T P Collins, M J |
author_facet |
Warinner, C Hendy, J Speller, C Cappellini, E Fischer, R Trachsel, C Arneborg, J Lynnerup, N Craig, O E Swallow, D M Fotakis, A Christensen, R J Olsen, J V Liebert, A Montalva, N Fiddyment, S Charlton, S Mackie, M Canci, A Bouwman, Abigail Rühli, Frank Gilbert, M T 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 |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/101475/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/101475/1/srep07104.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-101475 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07104 |
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; Christensen, R J; Olsen, J V; Liebert, A; Montalva, N; Fiddyment, S; Charlton, S; Mackie, M; Canci, A; Bouwman, Abigail; Rühli, Frank; Gilbert, M T P; Collins, M J (2014). Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus. Scientific Reports, 4:7104. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/101475/1/srep07104.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-101475 doi:10.1038/srep07104 info:pmid/25429530 urn:issn:2045-2322 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-10147510.1038/srep07104 |
_version_ |
1810447497573695488 |