The Mind Creative MARCH 2015 | Page 38

CHEESE I In 2002 and 2004, scientists discovered yellow pieces of arguably the oldest "cheese" on the bodies of mummies buried in China's Taklamakan Desert. The mummies, which are each about 3,800 years old, were buried with chunks of this cheese. Presumably the chesses were put with the bodies for their food in the ‘afterlife’. The dry air and salty soil had left many mummies and their accessories extraordinarily well preserved. The research team found 1 to 2 centimetres long clumps of this yellowish substance in several tombs, adorning the necks and chests of the mummies, which had Eurasian features. REFERENCES/Photos: Chees: Y.LIU AND Y.YANG VIA LIVESCIENCE.COM HONEY: Credit: Hebrew University photo by Amihai Mazar http://mentalfloss.com/article/49610/7-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-food-finds http://www.viralnova.com/old-food/ Deutscheweine.de BBC Daily Mail Australia Facebook Nature/KBK Teo/E Minoux et al History.Cultural-China.com 38