Finnish People Using Dairy Products Since 2500 BC: Study

Residents of Finland began farming dairy cows some 4500 years ago, a new study suggests.

Finland is covered with snow for about four months in a year. A new research shows that despite suffering from such harsh winters, the Finns have been supplementing their diets with dairy products since 2500 BC .

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B and was based on the analysis of pot remains from prehistoric times.

This is the first time that researchers have found that people living north of 60 degrees drank milk 4500 years ago.

"We thought our ancestors would have supported themselves with locally-available natural resources, because feeding your own animals in freezing cold winters would've been challenging to say the least," said Dr Lucy Cramp of the University of Bristol, lead author of the study, according to PlanetEarth.

Scientists at the Bristol University and colleagues conducted the study. The team even looked at milk digestion abilities of modern-day residents of the region.

The 70 pot fragments used in the study are from two different eras: one from 3900 BC to 3300 BC and circa 2500 BC.

"This is remarkable evidence which proves that four and a half thousand years ago, Stone Age people must have been foddering and sheltering domesticated animals over harsh winters, in conditions that even nowadays we would find challenging," said Cramp in a news release.

According to the researchers, dairy farming originated some 11,000 years ago in the Near East. In Finland, 'Corded Ware' settlements saw the introduction of animal domestication some 4500 years ago.

Genetic analysis of modern-day Finns showed that they have the required genes to digest milk.

"The Finns are the biggest milk drinkers in the world. This is reflected in their genetics - those living in the western and southern parts have got the highest incidence of the lactase persistence allele which means they can digest the milk sugar lactose,' said Cramp, according to PlanetEarth. 'It shows what a critical staple it was to their diet."