Scientists: The ancient Mongols domesticated the yak more than 2.7 thousand years ago

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An international team of paleochemists and archaeologists has discovered the first physical evidence that the ancestors of the Mongols, who lived in Eurasia more than 2.7 thousand years ago, domesticated yaks.

The information office of the Swiss University of Basel indicates that scientists have discovered evidence indicating that the ancestors of the ancient Mongols were making sausages and dairy products from the milk of yaks (wild ragweed), which indicates that the steppe inhabitants of North Asia domesticated them early.

“We have been able to significantly enrich our perceptions of the diet and culinary traditions of Asian nomads during the Bronze Age,” says Shivan Lieken, a researcher at the University of Basel. “The information we have collected indicates that the ancient inhabitants of Mongolia domesticated yaks and began consuming their milk as food long before "It was previously believed."

The researchers came to this conclusion after studying two bronze pots and other utensil pieces found in 2021 by a Mongolian shepherd near the Russian-Mongolian border. Radiocarbon analysis of these finds has shown that they are more than 2.7 thousand years old, which makes them particularly interesting for studying the history of possible ancestors of modern Mongols and early herders in Central Asia.

The researchers indicate that they found in these pots the remains of proteins, fats, sugars and other molecules found in specific products and in the cells of certain animals and plants, which allowed them to determine the type of foods that were cooked or stored in them.

It became clear to the researchers that a large amount of the proteins found in both pots came from different types of livestock - sheep, goats, and deer. In addition, researchers discovered fragments of protein molecules found in the milk of domesticated yak. This discovery was a surprise to scientists, because they believed that the ancient Mongols domesticated or brought yaks to the region in the first and second centuries BC.