Ancient feces shows people in present-day Austria drank beer and ate
blue cheese up to 2,700 years ago

Date:
October 13, 2021
Source:
Cell Press
Summary:
Human feces don't usually stick around for long -- and
certainly not for thousands of years. But exceptions to this
general rule are found in a few places in the world, including
prehistoric salt mines of the Austrian UNESCO World Heritage
area Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut. Now, researchers who've
studied ancient fecal samples (or paleofeces) from these mines
have uncovered some surprising evidence: the presence of two fungal
species used in the production of blue cheese and beer.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Human feces don't usually stick around for long -- and certainly not for thousands of years. But exceptions to this general rule are found in a few places in the world, including prehistoric salt mines of the Austrian
UNESCO World Heritage area Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut. Now,
researchers who've studied ancient fecal samples (or paleofeces) from
these mines have uncovered some surprising evidence: the presence of
two fungal species used in the production of blue cheese and beer. The
findings appear in the journal Current Biology on October 13.


========================================================================== "Genome-wide analysis indicates that both fungi were involved in food fermentation and provide the first molecular evidence for blue cheese
and beer consumption during Iron Age Europe," says Frank Maixner (@FrankMaixner) of the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies in
Bolzano, Italy.

"These results shed substantial new light on the life of the prehistoric
salt miners in Hallstatt and allow an understanding of ancient culinary practices in general on a whole new level," adds Kerstin Kowarik (@KowarikKerstin) of the Museum of Natural History Vienna. "It is
becoming increasingly clear that not only were prehistoric culinary
practices sophisticated, but also that complex processed foodstuffs as
well as the technique of fermentation have held a prominent role in our
early food history." Earlier studies already had shown the potential
for studies of prehistoric paleofeces from salt mines to offer important insights into early human diet and health. In the new study, Maixner,
Kowarik, and their colleagues added in- depth microscopic, metagenomic,
and proteomic analyses -- to explore the microbes, DNA, and proteins
that were present in those poop samples.

These comprehensive studies allowed them to reconstruct the diet of the
people who once lived there. They also could get information about the
ancient microbes that inhabited their guts. Gut microbes are collectively
known as the gut microbiome and are now recognized to have an important
role in human health.

Their dietary survey identified bran and glumes of different cereals as
one of the most prevalent plant fragments. They report that this highly fibrous, carbohydrate-rich diet was supplemented with proteins from
broad beans and occasionally with fruits, nuts, or animal food products.

In keeping with their plant-heavy diet, the ancient miners up to the
Baroque period also had gut microbiome structures more like those of
modern non- Westernized individuals, whose diets are also mainly composed
of unprocessed food, fresh fruits and vegetables. The findings suggest
a more recent shift in the Western gut microbiome as eating habits and lifestyles changed.

When the researchers extended their microbial survey to include fungi,
that's when they got their biggest surprise: an abundance in one of
their Iron Age samples of Penicillium roqueforti and Saccharomyces
cerevisiae DNA.

"The Hallstatt miners seem to have intentionally applied food fermentation technologies with microorganisms which are still nowadays used in the
food industry," Maixner says.

The findings offer the first evidence that people were already producing
blue cheese in Iron Age Europe nearly 2,700 years ago, he adds. In
ongoing and future studies of the paleofeces from Hallstatt, they
hope to learn more about the early production of fermented foods and
the interplay between nutrition and the gut microbiome composition in
different time periods.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cell_Press. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Frank Maixner et al. Hallstatt miners consumed blue cheese and beer
during the Iron Age and retained a non-Westernized gut
microbiome until the Baroque period. Current Biology, 2021 DOI:
10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.031 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211013114028.htm

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