🐄 A 4,000-Year-Old Milestone: The 2020 Discovery That Proved South Asia’s Earliest Dairy Processing

In 2020, a landmark study published in Scientific Reports by Kalyan Sekhar Chakraborty, Greg F. Slater, Heather M.-L. Miller, Prabodh Shirvalkar, and Yadubirsingh Rawat reshaped our understanding of South Asia’s dairy heritage. For the first time, researchers have uncovered direct biochemical evidence of dairy processing in the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating back as far as 2300–1950 BCE.

The breakthrough came not from bones or artefacts alone, but from organic residues trapped in ancient pottery, extracted and chemically analysed using compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA).

🔍 Revisiting the 2020 Study: What Was Found?

The study focused on Kotada Bhadli, a rural agro-pastoral Indus settlement in Gujarat. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and gas chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC–IRMS), the researchers analysed lipid residues from 59 ceramic sherds.

Among them, five vessels revealed a distinctive chemical fingerprint of ruminant dairy fats. These fats were most likely sourced from cattle and possibly water buffalo—animals that were central to Indus animal husbandry.

Crucially, the animals had been fed on C4 plants, such as millets, allowing the team to distinguish their dairy products isotopically.

🏺 Why This Matters

Until this study, the idea that the Indus people consumed dairy was largely speculative, based on animal mortality patterns and iconography. But this was the first time science directly confirmed milk processing in Indus households. It was proven that dairy was not only known but also likely an everyday dietary component in parts of South Asia over 4,000 years ago.

🧪 The Science Behind the Proof

The breakthrough hinged on a specific isotopic technique: analysing the carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) in C16:0 (palmitic acid) and C18:0 (stearic acid) fatty acids.

A Δ13C value below -3.1‰ is widely accepted as a marker for ruminant dairy. The Kotada Bhadli samples that met this criterion also showed enriched δ13C values, consistent with C4 plant-based foddering, which firmly links the dairy source to cattle and water buffalo, rather than goats or sheep.

🌾 Cattle, Culture, and Complexity

The study reinforced the notion that cattle and buffalo were multifunctional assets in Indus society—used not just for traction or meat, but also for milk production. Their depiction in Indus seals and terracotta figurines suggests that these animals may have held ideological or symbolic importance as well.

By confirming milk use, the study added a new dimension to the economic and cultural landscape of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

📈 Long-Term Impact (2020–2025)

Over the past five years, this 2020 discovery has:

• Sparked renewed interest in ancient dairying practices
• Inspired similar residue analyses at other South Asian archaeological sites
• Validated the use of CSIA techniques in reconstructing early food economies

It also laid the groundwork for understanding how early dairy traditions may have influenced regional diets, health, and trade—a legacy that still echoes in South Asia’s modern dairy-rich culture.

📌 Summary Table

🐄 Looking Ahead

The 2020 Kotada Bhadli study serves as a definitive starting point for archaeologists, dairy historians, and food scientists interested in the deep roots of dairy in South Asia. As more ancient sites are explored and new technologies applied, we are likely to uncover even earlier and more widespread instances of milk use, confirming what India’s dairy culture has long celebrated: milk has always been more than food—it’s civilisation in a bowl.