Transition to farming – transition to milk culture: a case study from Mala Triglavca, Slovenia

Mihael Budja; Nives Ogrinc; Andreja Žibrat Gašparič; Doris Potočnik; Dušan Žigon; Dimitrij Mlekuž

doi:10.4312/dp.40.9

Authors

Mihael Budja Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
Nives Ogrinc Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
Andreja Žibrat Gašparič Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana
Doris Potočnik Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana
Dušan Žigon Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana
Dimitrij Mlekuž Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.40.9

Keywords:

European Neolithic, demic diffusion, transition to farming, dairying, lactase persistence, lipids, Vlaška culture

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the transition to milk culture. While archaeological and biochemical data suggest that dairying was adopted in the Neolithic in Europe, archaeogenetic data show the absence of the allelic variant –13 910*T and very low lactase persistence in Neolithic populations in Europe. The Mala Triglavca case study shows that the Early Neolithic economy in the Caput Ad- riae region was mixed. It consisted of milk and processed milk, meat animal products, freshwater fish and various plants. The Vlaška group herders managed a broader spectrum of resources than exclusively ovicaprids, and were able to produce a wide range of low-lactose, storable products by fermenting milk.