The most ancient fragment of cheese has been uncovered, discovered resting atop a mummy’s neck.
A coffin dating back 3,600 years was opened at the Xiaohe Cemetery in Xinjiang, China, during an archaeological dig in 2003, revealing a substance draped around the neck of a preserved young woman.
Initially mistaken for a piece of ornamental jewelry, scientists have now confirmed that the artifact is the oldest cheese ever found.
Qiaomei Fu, a paleogeneticist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, remarked to Sky’s affiliate NBC News: “Conventional cheese is soft, but this is not. It has transitioned into a very dry, compact, and hard substance.”
She elaborated that the preservation of the woman’s coffin was attributed to the arid conditions of the Tarim Basin desert.
Researchers discovered dairy remnants at the Xiaohe Cemetery that trace back to the Bronze Age. Pic: Yang Yimin / University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Although the art of cheese-making has been chronicled throughout history, the researchers noted in a publication in the journal Cell that the “history of fermented dairy products has largely faded into obscurity.”
In discussions with NBC News, Ms. Fu mentioned that her team collected samples from three tombs at the Xiaohe Cemetery and analyzed the DNA to trace bacterial evolution over millennia.
The findings identified the samples as kefir cheese, produced by fermenting milk with kefir grains, while also indicating the use of goat and cow’s milk.
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The research team highlighted that the presence of kefir cheese indicates how Bronze Age communities interacted and illustrates how the Xiaohe individuals—who were known to be genetically lactose intolerant—consumed dairy prior to the advent of pasteurization and refrigeration.
They stated: “These 3,500-year-old kefir cheese samples represent some of the few dairy remnants preserved for over 3,000 years, originating from the Bronze Age Xiaohe population—a group exhibiting diverse lifestyles and practices.”
However, when NBC inquired if the cheese was safe to eat and if she would be willing to sample it, Ms. Fu replied, “no way.”
