From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Jan 30 2003 - 19:04:32 MST
Those of you who know me well know that I am no fan of dairy products. They
are not part of our genetic heritage, having been introduced into the human
diet only very recently.
We are not genetically adapted to the proteins and sugars in dairy products.
For that reason they are in my opinion a likely source of many modern health
problems.
Here is news about the the earliest evidence of dairy, which dates back only
about 6 to 8 thousand years. This is barely a blink of an eye in comparison
to the multi-million year evolutionary history of homo sapiens.
-gts
--- Earliest Evidence of Dairy Farming Found Mon Jan 27, 5:01 PM WASHINGTON - Dairy farming became widespread in Britain as early as the new stone age - around 4,000 B.C. - a team of researchers at England's University of Bristol reports. Mark Copley, an archaeological chemist, said evidence of milk fats was found on broken pieces of pottery at several ancient sites in southern England. Using new methods of analysis, scientists have learned to differentiate between ancient residue from milk fat and other fats and oils in recent years, Copley and his team report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Their findings provide evidence of "the earliest farming communities in Britain, though obviously there were earlier ones in the Near East," Copley said. Animals were domesticated in the Near East about 8,000 B.C. Copley explained, and by the time farming practices reached England, dairying had become widely incorporated, using animals for both their meat and milk, Copley said. He said the team hopes to trace the spread of dairying from the Near East through Southeast Europe and the Balkans. While the chemical testing can detect milkfats, Copley said he didn't know exactly how the milk was being used. However, he added, "when you consider how soon milk goes off, it's most likely they were making butter, cheese or yogurt ... which actually keep a long time." By analyzing residue on pots and other artifacts from ancient communities, Copley said, archaeologists are "building up quite a big picture of how ancient economies actually worked."
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