GCMS data files for: Detection of dairy products from multiple taxa in Late Neolithic pottery from Poland: an integrated biomolecular approach

The detection of dairy processing is pivotal to our understanding of
ancient subsistence strategies. This culinary process is linked to key
arguments surrounding the evolution of lactase persistence in prehistory.
Despite extensive evidence indicating the presence of dairy products in
ceramics in the European Neolithic, questions remain about the nature and
extent of milk (and lactose) processing and consumption. In order to
investigate past patterns of dairy processing, here we analyse ancient
proteins identified from Late Neolithic Funnel Beaker ceramics,
scrutinising the principle that curd and whey proteins partition during
the production of dairy foods from milk. Our results indicate the presence
of casein-rich dairy products in these vessels suggesting the creation of
curd-enriched products from raw milk. Moreover, this analysis reveals the
use of multiple species for their dairy products in the Late Neolithic
Funnel Beaker culture, adding to a growing body of evidence that multiple
taxa were exploited for dairying in the Neolithic. Alongside
palaeoproteomic analysis we also apply lipid residue analysis, with
discrepancies in these two approaches suggesting that effects from isotope
mixing may be underestimating the frequency of milk use in prehistoric
pottery, highlighting the utility of a multi-stranded approach.