• Rob Bos@lemmy.ca
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    16 days ago

    I would guess that humans have been around for what, 250k years? And that the vast majority of that didn’t involve a whole lot of milk after age 4.

    So it wouldn’t have been to much advantage to be able to metabolize lactose.

    • MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml
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      15 days ago

      No, there is, you get more from your cattle, and on a individual level, less likely to starve.

      Keeping Lactase production happened at least twice; north europe and a group in west africa.

      • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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        15 days ago

        Saudi Arabia too. I assume that camel milk came in pretty handy in early tribes surviving the deserts.

      • Rob Bos@lemmy.ca
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        15 days ago

        Sure, if you a) keep mammals around and b) drink their milk. I’m not convinced domesticated animals have been a thing for all that long, evolutionarily. Long enough for some groups to have adapted, sure. We have adaptations for cooked food, too.

        [Searches] Cattle probably around 10k years ago.