Prehistoric Dairy Farming in the Alps
Published: 2015-01-01 | DOI: 10.54799/GDQD1805
Abstract
The traditional production of cheese, butter and other dairy products is an important part of the cultural and culinary heritage of the European Alps and accordingly to Switzerland. The first ever direct proof of Alpine dairying was discovered recently on prehistoric pottery fragments. The remnants of pots, which were probably used for milk processing, came to light at an elevation of more than 2000m above sea-level during excavations of Iron Age stone-built constructions in the Silvretta mountain range (Lower Engadin, Switzerland). Biochemical analyses confirmed that domestic animals had been milked in the approximately 3000 year-old permanent structures and that the milk had then been further processed. One can therefore assume that nutritious and storable goods such as cheese, butter and lard were already being produced and distributed during the prehistoric period, just as ancient writers would recount a few short centuries later. This study presents the latest research results and discusses them within a wider spatio-temporal and cultural historical context and mainly from the central and eastern Alps.