Thank the Indus folks for the cheese on your plate

New Delhi, Oct 22 : According to a research carried out by the University of Toronto Mississauga, it has been found out that the Indus Valley Civilization was the earliest known producer of dairy and dairy products, especially cheese. Chakraborty, who is conducting his post-doctoral research with Heather Miller, an anthropology professor at the university said “We found that dairy was an integral part of their diet at a site that dates to about 2500 BCE.”

 

According to the findings, dairy constituted as an important part of the Harappan diet. Besides it is likely that dairy was also an important source of their commerce. The analysis was possible because pottery is porous and absorbs some of the food cooked or stored inside it during lifetime. The professor looked for fats (lipids) because they don’t dissolve in water, which makes them more resistant through time.

 

Prof Chakraborty worked with Professor Greg Slater of McMaster University to analyze these compounds. Their origin can be determined based on the ratio of carbon isotopes they contain. Based on the chemical composition of these fats, they were also able to determine what food the animals who produced them ate.