Scientists discover oldest cheese in the world buried with mummies as afterlife snack

Mummies found near China's Tarim Basin were buried 3,600 years ago with snacks for the afterlife. A decade after archaeologists discovered the mummies in an ancient cemetery belonging to the Xiaohe people, scientists used DNA analyze to identify the specific food. Turns out, "the mysterious white substances smeared on the heads and neck" of the mummies is kefir cheese.

"This is the oldest known cheese sample ever discovered in the world," said Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Qiaomei Fu. "Food items like cheese are extremely difficult to preserve over thousands of years, making this a rare and valuable opportunity. Studying the ancient cheese in great detail can help us better understand our ancestors' diet and culture."

From the scientific journal Cell's announcement:

The researchers successfully extracted mitochondrial DNA from samples found in three different tombs at the cemetery. They identified cow and goat DNA in the cheese samples. Interestingly, the ancient Xiaohe people used different types of animal milk in separated batches, a practice differing from the mixing of milk types common in Middle Eastern and Greek cheesemaking[…]

Being able to sequence the bacterial genes in the ancient kefir cheese gave the team an opportunity to track how probiotic bacteria evolved over the past 3,600 years. Specifically, they compared the ancient Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens from the ancient kefir cheese with the modern-day species.

Previously:
• Egyptian mummy believed to be male priest turns out to be a pregnant female
• Arm falls off 19th century mummy
• Scientists recreate sound of Egyptian mummy's voice from 3,000 years ago