Where did milk first come from?

The earliest evidence of humans drinking animal milk comes from about 10,000 years ago when Neolithic peoples living in the Middle East and Europe began to settle down and domesticate goats, sheep, and cows. As they lived in increasingly large groups, animals started to be herded rather than hunted, which led to a more abundant and reliable supply of food, including milk.

There is evidence of early goat herding in the Fertile Crescent, now comprising Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Cyprus and southeastern regions of Turkey and western regions of Iran.

Over the centuries, as nomadic people in the Middle East migrated east, they dispersed domesticated milk animals to India and eventually introduced dairy products to China around 2000 BCE.

In addition to herding, the practice of milking domesticated animals likely emerged when people realised that they could use the skins and bladders of animals to store milk. This enabled them to transport milk and preserve it for longer periods of time, making it a more accessible source of food.

The consumption of milk also spread with the expansion of European powers during the Age of European exploration. This led to the introduction of milk and dairy products to the Americas, Australia, and Africa, where it was incorporated into local diets and became an important part of the global food system.