Cheese making (ceramic sieves)
Queso (coladores de cerámica)
- Date
- c. 5200 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Kuyavia (Brześć Kujawski, Ludwinowo), central Poland
- Credited to
- Linear Pottery culture (LBK)
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
Perforated vessels bearing residues of milk fat, demonstrating the curdling and draining of milk to make cheese. It turns a perishable, lactose-rich food into a durable reserve digestible by adults.
Curdling in skins or baskets probably occurred earlier in Anatolia, with no archaeological trace.
What it led to
- Dairy consumption by lactose-intolerant adults before genetic selection
- A transportable, tradable food reserve
- Specialised dairy herding in temperate Europe