Blue cheese and beer go together, it's not surprising. But a new study shows how deep they have roots in Europe. Workers at an Austrian salt mine ate both of them up to 2,700 years before.
The discovery was made by scientists analysing human excrement samples found in the Hallstatt mine, Austrian Alps.
Frank Maixner, a microbiologist from the Eurac Research Institute, Bolzano, Italy who was the main author of the report, stated that he was shocked to discover salt miners two millennia earlier were advanced enough for fermentation to be used intentionally.
Maixner stated that this is extremely sophisticated. This is something that I didn't expect.
Researchers claim that this discovery was the first evidence of European cheese ripening.
While alcohol consumption is well documented in archaeological evidence and older writings, the first molecular evidence for beer consumption was found in the faeces of salt miners.
Kerstin Kowarik of the Museum of Natural History Vienna stated that prehistoric culinary practices were complex and that fermentation techniques played a significant role in early food history.
Hallstatt is a Unesco World Heritage Site that has been used to produce salt for over 3,000 years.
Maixner stated that the community is a special place. It's located in the Alps in the middle of nowhere. This mine was the base of community life and work.
There were many activities that miners did in their days, including eating, drinking, and using the toilet.
The miners' faeces are preserved well because of the constant temperature at 8C (46F), and the high salt concentration at the mine.
Four samples were analysed by researchers: one from the bronze age; two from the ironage; and one from 18th century.
Two fungi were found in the 2,700-year-old one, Penicillium cerevisiae and Penicillium rougeforti. They are both used in food production.
Maixner stated that Hallstatt miners may have deliberately applied food fermentation technology with microorganisms, which is still used today in the food industry.
Researchers also looked at the diet of miners, which included a lot of cereals, fruits, beans, and meats for protein.
Maixner stated that the diet was just what these miners required. It is balanced, and it has all the major components that you require.
Today's menus have a major difference from today's. The level of food processing was extremely low back then. Whole grains were used by the bronze and iron-age miners, which suggests that they ate porridge. The grains looked ground for the miners of the 18th century, which indicated that they had eaten bread or cookies.
Another important finding was the composition and number of microbiota in miners, which is the group of bacteria found in their bodies.
The microbiota of the four samples were very similar to modern non-western populations. They tend to live a more traditional lifestyle.
The study indicated that this suggests a shift in microbiota among industrialised people, possibly due to modern lifestyles, diets, and medical advances.
Maixner stated that microbiota can be linked to modern diseases. He said that scientists could learn more about the cause of this change by determining when it occurred.
The study was published in Current Biology on Wednesday.
