Several thousand eld ago , an Iron Age salt mineworker took a trash dump in what is now the Hallstatt - Dachstein / Salzkammergut expanse of Austria . In all likelihood , the pooper never pass their little deposition a 2d thinking , and would be rather surprised to learn that it has now become a scientific artefact , enable researchers to discover that Europeans ate blue cheese anddrank beer2,700 year ago .
Reporting the ancient excretory product in the journalCurrent Biology , the study authors reveal that the paleofeces has remained continue in the neighborhood ’s prehistorical table salt mine over the past few millennia . Using a range of analytic techniques , they were capable to discover the microbes , protein and deoxyribonucleic acid present in thepoopsamples . This , in turn , allowed them to establish a picture of the diet of Iron Age miners in this part of Europe , as well as the composition of their catgut bacteria .
Their findings reveal a diet rich in carbohydrates and gamey in fiber , consisting of mostly unprocessed bran and glume of various cereals , which were most in all likelihood have “ in a sort of gruel or porridge . ” This staple was append with proteins obtained from broad beans , as well as fruits , nuts , and brute production .
The study authors also observe that the ancient miner ’ intestine microbiome strongly resemble that of modern non - Western citizenry , whose dieting generally consists of impertinent fruit , veggie , and other minimally process food . By comparing these ancient faecal samples to those produced by more recent humans , the study authors suggest that “ the modern industrialize human gut microbiome has vary from an ancestral state , probably due to modernistic lifestyle , diet , or medical rise . ”
However , the most spectacular findings come forth when the researchers extend their analysis to admit fungi , and observe high concentrations of metal money such asPenicillium roquefortiandSaccharomyces cerevisiae , which are used in the yield ofblue cheeseandbeerrespectively .
“ Genome - wide analysis indicates that both fungi were involved in food fermentation and provide the first molecular evidence for blue cheeseflower and beer consumption during Iron Age Europe , ” explain subject author Frank Maixner in astatement .
According to the researchers , the Iron Age miners believably employed a method of beer fermentation that would have yield a final product resemble what is nowadays known as a wan ale . The purpose of kingdom Fungi to ripen cheese , meanwhile , would have start the miners to prolong the ledge life of Milk River while also off much of the lactose , thereby piddle it easier to digest by a population with high rate of lactose intolerance .
While the yield of fermented alcoholic beverages is weigh to have been widespread in pre - history , the authors say that their finding interpret “ the earliest know grounds for directed Malva sylvestris mature and affinage in Europe , add a crucial expression to an emerge scene of highly sophisticated culinary tradition in European protohistory . ”
