New study on frozen mummies unearths habits of Mongol Empire elites

Published in Communication Biology, the study reports unique protein discoveries from a distinguished Mongol Period graveyard that has outstanding permafrost preservation. This is the first instance of yak milk discovered in an archaeological context.

According to earlier studies, milk has been a valuable resource in Mongolia for over 5,000 years. It has been challenging to pinpoint when people first started consuming milk from yaks, despite the fact that the intake of milk from cattle, sheep, goats, and even horses can be reliably dated. Only seldom discovered yak remains and artistic…