by Temitope Onitiju
When milk and cheese became a part of the daily diet of early humans, they had difficulty adapting to and ingesting lactose for up to 5,000 years.
The discovery is based on a study published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, which was undertaken by 13 researchers from University College, Dublin, and Trinity College.
After extracting DNA samples from the petrous temporal bone, the thickest bone in the body, found at the base of the skull, the scientists came to the conclusion that the early men didn’t really fancy milk.
According to the Professor Ron Pinhasi from UCD Earth Institute, who is a joint author of the paper: “Our findings show progression towards lighter skin pigmentation as hunter and gatherers and non-local farmers intermarried, but surprisingly no presence of increased lactose persistence or tolerance to lactose.”
“This means that these ancient Europeans would have had domesticated animals like cows, goats and sheep, but they would not yet have genetically developed any sort of a tolerance for drinking large quantities of milk.”
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