'Evidence for 7,200 year-old cheese found in Croatia'

An international team of researchers has found the evidence of fermented dairy products -- soft cheeses and yoghurts -- in Croatia dating back about 7,200 years.

"This pushes back cheese-making by 4,000 years," said Sarah B McClure, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University in the US.

The presence of milk in pottery in Dalmatian Coast of Croatia is seen as early as 7,700 years ago, 500 years earlier than fermented products, according to the research published in the journal PLOS One.

DNA analysis of the populations in this area indicate that the adults were lactose-intolerant, but the children remained able to consume milk comfortably up to the age of ten.

"This is the earliest documented lipid residue evidence for fermented dairy in the Mediterranean region, and among the earliest documented anywhere to date," said McClure.

"Cheese production is important enough that people are making new types of kitchenware We are seeing that cultural shift," said McClure.

When only meat, fish and some milk residue is found in pottery, during the Early Neolithic, the pottery is a style called "Impressed Ware" found throughout the area.

About 500 years later, in the Middle Neolithic, another pottery style using different technology existed -- Danilo pottery -- which defines the era in this area and includes plates and bowls.

There are three subtypes of Danilo pottery.

Figulina makes up five per cent of this type and is highly fired and buff-coloured, often slipped and decorated.

All this pottery contained milk residue. The other Danilo wares contained animal fats and fresh water fish residue.

Rhyta, which are footed vessels with round bodies and are often animal- or human-shaped, have large openings on the sides and distinctive handles.

The researchers found that three of the four rhyta in their sample showed evidence of cheese.

The third category of Danilo ware is sieves, which are often used in cheese-making to strain treated milk when it separates into curds and whey.

Three of the four sieves in the sample showed evidence of secondary milk processing into either cheese or other fermented dairy products.

The researchers looked at pottery from two sites in Croatia in Dalmatia -- Pokrovnik and Danilo Bitinj.

When possible, they selected samples from unwashed pottery, but because some pottery forms are rarer, used washed samples for the sieves.

The researchers tested the pottery residue for carbon isotopes, which can indicate the type of fat and can distinguish between meat, fish, milk and fermented milk products.

They used radiocarbon dating on bone and seeds to determine the pottery's age.