Ancient Europeans intolerant to lactose for 5,000 years after they adopted agriculture
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - 11:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
By analysing DNA extracted from the petrous bones of skulls of ancient Europeans, scientists have identified that these peoples remained intolerant to lactose (natural sugar in the milk of mammals) for 5,000 years after they adopted agricultural practices and 4,000 years after the onset of cheese-making among Central European Neolithic farmers.