Abstract
The adaptation of certain human populations to milk consumption in adulthood is a remarkable example of biological evolution in response to cultural change - here the domestication and use of animal milk. What's more, this adaptation has occurred independently in several regions of the world, with at least five different mutations involved in the lactase persistence phenotype to date. However, an enigma remains concerning the pastoral populations of Central Asia, who do not appear to have adapted genetically. How do Mongolian, Kazakh and other herders manage to consume so many dairy products without the ability to digest lactose ? It seems that these populations have resorted to cultural adaptation, transforming milk by fermentation into by-products that are less difficult to digest. In any case, consuming milk in processed or unprocessed form seems to have been highly advantageous for many human populations in the past.
