Dairy pastoralism is integral to contemporary and past lifeways on the eastern Eurasian steppe, facilitating survival in agriculturally challenging environments. While previous research has indicated that ruminant dairy pastoralism was practiced in the region by circa 1300 bc, the origin, extent and diversity of this custom remain poorly understood. Here, we analyse ancient proteins from human dental calculus recovered from geographically diverse locations across Mongolia and spanning 5,000 years. We present the earliest evidence for dairy consumption on the eastern Eurasian steppe by circa 3000 bc and the later emergence of horse milking at circa 1200 bc, concurrent with the first evidence for horse riding. We argue that ruminant dairying contributed to the demographic success of Bronze Age Mongolian populations and that the origins of traditional horse dairy products in eastern Eurasia are closely tied to the regional emergence of mounted herding societies during the late second millennium bc.

奶牛畜牧业是欧亚草原东部现代和过去生活方式的组成部分，有助于在农业挑战环境中生存。虽然先前的研究表明，大约在公元前 1300 年，该地区开始进行反刍动物奶牛 畜牧业，但人们对这种习俗的起源、范围和多样性仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们分析了从蒙古各地不同地理位置、跨越 5000 年的人类牙结石中提取的古代蛋白质。我们提供了大约公元前3000 年东部欧亚草原上奶制品消费的最早证据， 以及大约公元前1200 年出现的马挤奶。 ，与骑马的第一个证据同时出现。我们认为，反刍动物奶制品对青铜时代蒙古人口的人口成功做出了贡献，并且欧亚大陆东部传统马奶制品的起源与公元前二千年后期骑马放牧社会的区域性出现密切相关。