Molecular and isotopic evidence for milk, meat, and plants in prehistoric eastern African herder food systems

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 persisten...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2020-05, Vol.117 (18), p.9793-9799
Main Authors: Grillo, Katherine M., Dunne, Julie, Marshall, Fiona, Prendergast, Mary E., Casanova, Emmanuelle, Gidna, Agness O., Janzen, Anneke, Karega-Munene, Keute, Jennifer, Mabulla, Audax Z. P., Robertshaw, Peter, Gillard, Toby, Walton-Doyle, Caitlin, Whelton, Helen L., Ryan, Kathleen, Evershed, Richard P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
Animal products
Archaeology
Archaeology and Prehistory
Cattle
Dairy cattle
Diet
Fatty acids
Food
Food consumption
Food plants
Food systems
Goats
Grasslands
Herding
High protein diet
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hunting
Hypocaloric diet
Lactase
Lactose
Livestock
Low protein diet
Meat
Milk
Neolithic
Nutrient deficiency
Nutrients
Pastoralism
Population genetics
Sheep
Social Sciences
Soups
Stone Age
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Summary: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 milkbased, 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 δ13C and Δ13C 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.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1920309117