Researchers from the University of York traced dairy use back to early farmers in Central Europe, showing that cows, goats, and sheep were kept for milk even when lactose intolerance may have been common. The findings point to a daily dairy habit that shaped ancient diets and livelihoods.
In 2016, archaeologists uncovered ceramic vessels near Slabynske in central Poland. By analyzing the proteins and oils on the vessel surfaces, they uncovered evidence that early farmers were importing cheese and other dairy products. This suggests a level of trade, storage, and culinary practice that went beyond simple subsistence, and it indicates that many individuals likely could not fully digest milk yet still enjoyed dairy foods.
The estimated age of these discoveries places them around 3650 to 3100 years ago, aligning with the late Neolithic period. Lactose intolerance was widespread among Europeans during the Neolithic, and a genetic change later in the Bronze Age allowed most adults to produce lactase, the enzyme needed to digest lactose. During this transition, pastoral communities learned methods to reduce lactose in milk, notably through the production of cheese and yogurt.
Evidence from animal remains shows that milk from cows, sheep, and goats was used in cheese making. Burial sites also reveal the presence of a small settlement with four houses, a well, and a burial mound, underscoring a community that sustained dairy practices as part of daily life.
More recent archaeological work supports the view that milk consumption was a steady feature of Central European diets since the Neolithic. Residues containing fat particles unique to dairy products have been discovered in pottery from regions that are now Poland and Hungary, dating back to the sixth and seventh millennia BCE, demonstrating a long standing dairy tradition across the area and hinting at complex social and economic networks built around milk products.