Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe.

ABSTRACT: In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years¹. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions^2,3. Here we provide detailed distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at ex

SUBMITTER: Evershed RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7615474 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature