Molecular and isotopic evidence for milk, meat, and plants in prehistoric eastern African herder food systems
| Autor: | Agness Gidna, Katherine M. Grillo, Julie Dunne, Toby Gillard, Kathleen Ryan, Anneke Janzen, Karega-Munene, Fiona Marshall, Mary E. Prendergast, Richard P. Evershed, Caitlin Walton-Doyle, Peter Robertshaw, Emmanuelle Casanova, Audax Mabulla, Helen L. Whelton, Jennifer Keute |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
010506 paleontology
Ceramics Livestock Meat Human Migration Pastoralism Social Sciences Lactose 01 natural sciences Prehistory Animals Humans 0601 history and archaeology Herding History Ancient 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Lactase 2. Zero hunger Carbon Isotopes Multidisciplinary Sheep 060102 archaeology business.industry Ecology Goats Fatty Acids Foodways food and beverages 06 humanities and the arts 15. Life on land Diet Lactase persistence Geography Milk Archaeology Food processing Food systems Cattle business Food Analysis |
| Zdroj: | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490 |
| Popis: | The development of pastoralism transformed human diets and societies in grasslands worldwide. The long-term success of cattle herding in Africa has been sustained by dynamic food systems, consumption of a broad range of primary and secondary livestock products, and the evolution of lactase persistence (LP), which allows digestion of lactose into adulthood and enables the milk-based, high-protein, low-calorie diets characteristic of contemporary pastoralists. Despite the presence of multiple alleles associated with LP in ancient and present-day eastern African populations, the contexts for selection for LP and the long-term development of pastoralist foodways in this region remain unclear. Pastoral Neolithic (c. 5000 to 1200 BP) faunas indicate that herders relied on cattle, sheep, and goats and some hunting, but direct information on milk consumption, plant use, and broader culinary patterns is rare. Combined chemical and isotopic analysis of ceramic sherds (n = 125) from Pastoral Neolithic archaeological contexts in Kenya and Tanzania, using compound-specific δ(13)C and Δ(13)C values of the major fatty acids, provides chemical evidence for milk, meat, and plant processing by ancient herding societies in eastern Africa. These data provide the earliest direct evidence for milk product consumption and reveal a history of reliance on animal products and other nutrients, likely extracted through soups or stews, and plant foods. They document a 5,000-y temporal framework for eastern Africa pastoralist cuisines and cultural contexts for selection for alleles distinctive of LP in eastern Africa. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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