It’s no secret that beer and cheese go together like peanut butter and jelly – but a new study revealed that this mouthwatering combination goes way back in European history.
The research, published in Current Biology, suggested that workers at a salt mine in Austria some 2,700 years ago quelled their hunger with beer and cheese.
But how did scientists get this information?
By using modern technology to carefully scrutinise ancient poop.
Getting hands dirty for science.
“This is very sophisticated in my opinion,” said Frank Maixner, lead author of the study and a microbiologist at the Eurac Research Institute in Bolzano, Italy. “This is something I did not expect at that time.”
This is the first study to show that ancient humans appeared to have deliberately fermented food. It’s also the earliest evidence to date of cheese ripening in Europe. Beer consumption, on the other hand, is well documented in older writings and archaeological evidence. But the salt miners’ ancient poop contained the first molecular evidence of beer consumption on the continent at that time.
The researchers were able to analyse the faecal samples thanks to the constant temperature of around eight degrees Celsius and the high concentration of salt at the mine, which preserved the miners’ excrements exceptionally well.
Using molecular and DNA analysis, the researchers examined the paleofaeces and discovered that the miners also had a well-balanced diet. Their diets consisted mainly of whole-grain cereals, some fruits, and beans with meats as the source of protein.
Probing the presence of fungi, the microbiologists found DNA from Pennicillium roqueforti, used in the fermentation of blue cheese, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, used in alcohol brewing and bread baking. The genomes of these fungi suggest that the Austrian miners intentionally applied food fermentation technologies with microorganisms, which are still used in the modern food industry. That’s a pretty high level of sophistication!
A more rudimentary lifestyle.
By analysing the composition of the miners’ microbiota, the range of microbe population present in the large intestine, the scientists also found that the miners had a very traditional lifestyle, similar to that of modern non-western populations.
In contrast, the microbiota of people in modern and industrialised communities have shifted very recently due to a combination of lifestyle changes, diet or medical advances such as the use of antibiotics, which are poor at supporting a more diverse microbiota.
The human microbiome is intricately linked to some diseases. According to Maixner, pinpointing exactly when and how this change in bacterial diversity occurred could help scientists grasp how different microbiota causes certain modern diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, both types of diabetes and certain allergies. It’s a positive step forward in understanding the composition and overarching functions of gut bacteria, which could lead to more useful biomarkers that aid in earlier, more accurate detection of disease, as well as guiding medical professionals to advance precision medicine.
