Archive · 19 May 2025
East Asians Evolved Milk Tolerance Before Livestock
Humans usually lose the ability to digest milk as adults.
However, some people have a gene that lets them keep digesting milk.
Scientists thought this ability to digest milk, called lactase persistence, came about because people started raising cows.
But new research shows that in East Asia, the ability to digest milk came from Neanderthals, an early human relative.
This happened long before people in East Asia started raising animals.
The researchers found this out by studying old DNA and comparing it to what we know about how humans evolved.
This means the story of how humans and milk changed together is more complicated than we thought.
East Asians' lactase persistence gene comes from Neanderthals.
This gene evolved before the domestication of livestock.
The study challenges the established understanding of lactase persistence evolution.
Researchers analyzed ancient DNA data from the Allen Ancient DNA Resource.
The findings suggest a more complex evolutionary history than previously thought.
- Who
- Researchers from Fudan University, the Max Planck Institute, and the Université de Lyon conducted the study.
- What
- Researchers discovered that East Asians' lactase persistence gene originated from Neanderthals, not from cattle domestication.
- When
- More than 30,000 years ago, East Asians began evolving towards lactase persistence.
- Where
- East Asia, with data from the Amur area of China.
- Why
- The study challenges the long-held belief that lactase persistence evolved in conjunction with cattle domestication.
Original Theory
New Findings
Evolutionary Origins of Lactase Persistence
Original Theory
New research indicates East Asians' lactase persistence evolved before livestock domestication, with origins in Neanderthal DNA.
New Findings
The 'textbook example' suggests lactase persistence evolved alongside cattle domestication due to milk consumption.
- Key Finding
- East Asians' lactase persistence gene is derived from Neanderthals.
- Neanderthal DNA in Modern Humans
- 1-4% of Eurasian ancestry is Neanderthal-derived.
- Lactase Persistence Timing
- Evolved in East Asians more than 30,000 years ago.
- Study Location
- Amur area of China
- Current Lactase Persistence Frequency
- 28.9% in East Asians