Europeans were consuming milk 7,400 years ago, scientists find

Milk was first used by farmers in central Europe about 7,400 years ago, research has found.

Scientists found dairy fat traces in the walls of pottery from the 54th century BC.

This technique targets proteins from animal fat residues making it uniquely suited to pinpointing the introduction of new foodstuffs in prehistoric times.

The research at the University of Bristol analysed more than 4,300 pottery vessels from 70 settlements for their food residues.

Ceramics from the Alsace region on display at the Historic Museum of Mulhouse, Mulhouse France. Milk was first used by farmers in central Europe about 7,400 years ago, research has found. Picture: Emmanuelle Casanova/University of Bristol/PA Wire

The results revealed considerable variation in milk use across the region, with only 65 per cent of sites presenting evidence of dairy fats in ceramics vessels, suggesting milk use was not universally adopted by these early farmers.

The prehistoric settlers were the earliest Neolithic farming groups in central Europe, known as the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture.

Focussing on the sites and ceramics with dairy residues, the researchers produced about 30 new radiocarbon dates to chart the advent of dairy exploitation by farmers.