I've been eating a lot of cheese lately.
I just can't get enough cheese." - Uncle Buck
Posted on 09/06/2018 3:14:45 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Residue on 7,200 year old pottery found in Croatia has pushed back the dawn of cheese making in the Mediterranean.
The find resets the timeline of agriculture in the region, with fermented dairy products being made a mere five centuries after milk was first stored. But its innovation was more than just a culinary milestone for dairy connoisseurs – it could have been a life saver.
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Archaeological data shows people have been growing crops and raising livestock in the region for roughly 8,000 years.
Impressed Ware, named for the simple shell-like impressions used to decorate the clay. They form one of the earliest forms of pottery in the area.
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Within centuries, Impressed Ware gave way to a variety of pottery fashions. One fancy example is called Danilo, often inscribed with designs that link it with other cultures across the Mediterranean.
This was a little like the Tupperware of the area, with plates and bowls and storage containers. Interestingly, specific types of Danilo pottery have been associated with certain foods.
The highly polished Figulina type, for example, makes up just five percent of all Danilo pottery in the area, but always contains traces of milk. McClure and her team investigated another type of Danilo pottery, called Rhyta. They tend to be round, have little feet, and are often shaped like people or animals.
Analysis of the carbon isotopes on the inner surface of unwashed Rhyta pottery sherds indicated many had been used to hold not only milk products, but dairy of a more fermented variety, such as cheese and yoghurt.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
Pottery ping
Do the pots have pictures of Mööse on them?
Must be from the Wisconsonian Period.
Irrelevant quiz: "Hard cheese on Tony." Name that novel.
Any crackers?
The find resets the timeline of agriculture in the region, with fermented dairy products being made a mere five centuries after milk was first stored.
Ew! Making cheese with 500 year old milk?!? ;^) Thanks BenLurkin.
Where there was ancient cheese there must have been ancient pizza.
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