Mysterious white substance smeared on 3,600-year-old mummy identified

TPO - Recent DNA tests have revealed that the mysterious slime on the mummy is kefir cheese, a soft cheese made from cow and goat milk thousands of years ago.

Mummies found in a cemetery in China had traces of cheese smeared on their heads and necks. (Photo: Wenying Li)

These mysterious substances were smeared on several mummies buried at the Xiaohe Cemetery in the Tarim Basin, northwest China.

The world's oldest cheese

Cheese contains several species of bacteria and fungi, including Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens and Pichia kudriavzevii, both of which are found in modern kefir grains. These grains are “symbiotic cultures” of a mixture of bacteria and yeast that ferment milk into cheese, similar to “sour yeast.” The mysterious white substance smeared on the head and neck of a 3,600-year-old mummy in China is the world’s oldest cheese.

"Foods like cheese are extremely difficult to preserve for thousands of years, making this a rare and valuable opportunity," said senior study author Qiaomei Fu, a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. "Detailed research on ancient cheeses can help us better understand the diet and culture of our ancestors."

The researchers also determined that L. kefiranofaciens seeds are closely related to similar seeds originating from Tibet. By sequencing the bacteria's genes, the researchers were able to trace how probiotic bacteria have evolved over the past 3,600 years.

"Our observations show that kefir culture has been maintained in the Xinjiang region of China since the Bronze Age," added paleoanthropologist Qiaomei Fu. "We were able to observe how a bacterium evolved over the past 3,000 years. Furthermore, by examining dairy products, we have gained a clearer picture of ancient human life and their interactions with the world."

Ha Thu

According to Live Science

Source: https://tienphong.vn/da-xac-dinh-duoc-chat-trang-bi-an-boi-len-xac-uop-3600-nam-tuoi-post1677104.tpo