News in Brief Archaeology

Tooth plaque shows drinking milk goes back 3,000 years in Mongolia

Milk proteins preserved in tartar show that ancient Mongolians drank cow, yak and sheep milk

yaks in Mongolia

MODERN MILK  Seven species of animals, including yaks (shown), are milked in Mongolia today; recent research suggests that yaks were milked in the region 3,000 years ago, too.

C. Warinner

By Carolyn Gramling

- More than 2 years ago

WASHINGTON — Ancient people living in what’s now Mongolia drank milk from cows, yaks and sheep — even though, as adults, they couldn’t digest lactose.