The first results of the NeoMilk project have already been published. An article by P. Gernault et al. reviews the archaeological and genetic evidence available that have contributed to a better understanding of the gene-culture co-evolution of lactase persistence and dairying. The authors tried to answer the question of how long have adult humans been consuming milk?
A paper by M. Salque et al. is about, on the other hand, earliest evidence for cheese making in the sixth millennium BC in northern Europe. The authors investigate the function of sieves/strainer vessels, providing direct chemical evidence for their use in milk processing. The presence of abundant milk fat in these specialized vessels, comparable in form to modern cheese strainers, provides compelling evidence for the vessels having being used to separate fat-rich milk curds from the lactose-containing whey.
Results of the NeoMilk project offer new insight into the role and function of archaeological sites dated to the Neolithic. For example, this was the intention behind the article prepared by P. C. R. Parmenter et al. to put evidence-based interpretation back into the study of faunal remains from Neolithic causewayed enclosures. On the other hand, M. Roffet-Salque with R. P. Evershed consider shifting pottery use and animal management at Kopydłowo (Poland) traced through lipid residue analyses of pottery vessels.
Another worth mentioning result of the project is an article about widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers by M. Roffet-Salque et al. The authors demonstrate that bee products were exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions.
Finally, one of the papers prepared by the project members (M. Roffet-Salque et al.) analyzed the impact of modern cattle feeding practices on milk fatty acid stable carbon isotope compositions emphasise the need for caution in selecting reference animal tissues and products for archaeological investigations.