title: Neolithic dairy farming at the extreme of agriculture in northern Europe.
abstract: The conventional 'Neolithic package' comprised animals and plants originally domesticated in the Near East. As farming spread on a generally northwest trajectory across Europe, early pastoralists would have been faced with the challenge of making farming viable in regions in which the organisms were poorly adapted to providing optimal yields or even surviving. Hence, it has long been debated whether Neolithic economies were ever established at the modern limits of agriculture. Here, we examine food residues in pottery, testing a hypothesis that Neolithic farming was practiced beyond the 60th parallel north. Our findings, based on diagnostic biomarker lipids and δ(13)C values of preserved fatty acids, reveal a transition at ca 2500 BC from the exploitation of aquatic organisms to processing of ruminant products, specifically milk, confirming farming was practiced at high latitudes. Combining this with genetic, environmental and archaeological information, we demonstrate the origins of dairying probably accompanied an incoming, genetically distinct, population successfully establishing this new subsistence 'package'.
authors: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK lucy.cramp@bristol.ac.uk.
authors: Lucy J E
authors: LJ
authors: Cramp
authors: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
authors: Richard P
authors: RP
authors: Evershed
authors: Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, PO Box 59, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Lavento
authors: Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, PO Box 59, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors: Petri
authors: P
authors: Halinen
authors: Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki, PO Box 59, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors: Kristiina
authors: K
authors: Mannermaa
authors: Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors: Markku
authors: M
authors: Oinonen
authors: Public Health Genomics Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, PO Box 104, Helsinki 00251, Finland FIMM, The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, PO Box 20, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors: Johannes
authors: J
authors: Kettunen
authors: Public Health Genomics Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, PO Box 104, Helsinki 00251, Finland FIMM, The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, PO Box 20, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Perola
authors: Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 56, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors: Päivi
authors: P
authors: Onkamo
authors: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK volker.heyd@bristol.ac.uk.
authors: Volker
authors: V
authors: Heyd
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D001106:Archaeology; D003612:Dairying; D004032:Diet; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005387:Finland; D005504:Food Analysis; D051456:Gene Flow; D006801:Humans
keywords: 60th parallel north; biomarker lipids; dairy farming; incoming prehistoric population; isotopes; lactase persistence