00:00This is a mummy that was exhumed from a Chinese cemetery back in the 90s.
00:08At the time it was found with these bits stuck to its head and neck, tiny fragments that
00:11look like rocks.
00:12However, back in 2014 they were actually theorized as being cheese.
00:17Now that theory has been confirmed, with a DNA analysis of the samples revealing they
00:21are indeed 3600-year-old cheese.
00:24The researchers say they have found both cow and goat DNA amongst the samples.
00:29They say it's a type of fermented kefir cheese from the Bronze Age, with paleontologists
00:33saying this is the oldest known cheese sample ever discovered in the world.
00:38They add that this find is significant because food products are often extremely difficult
00:42to preserve, especially over thousands of years, giving researchers a rare opportunity
00:47to examine food preparation methods of ancient times.
00:50In fact, they identified the specific strain of bacteria used to produce this cheese came
00:54from Tibet, with the study's authors adding,
00:57This is an unprecedented study, allowing us to observe how a bacterium evolved over
01:02the past 3,000 years.
