A new study revealed advanced plant processing and cow milk consumption in prehistoric South India. Researchers used sophisticated technology to examine sites like Keeladi and Gottiprolu from 600-100 BC. These findings showed that early people used dairy and plants, much like the ancient food habits seen in North India.
The archaeology of food is well documented in North India’s ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, where the culinary repertoire, deduced from rigorous research on pottery shards, comprised dairy, meat, and plant-based products as far back as 2500 BCE .
Now, a new study, using sophisticated technology, deconstructed the culinary composition of prehistoric South India’s cuisine and revealed, for the first time, advanced plant processing and the custom of cow milk consumption way back in 600-100 BC, in two important archaeological sites – Keeladi in Tamil Nadu, from 6th to 2nd century BC, and in Gottiprolu in Andhra Pradesh, from 2nd to 1st century BCE.