World's Oldest Cheese Found on Necks of Chinese Mummies Dating Back to 1615 B.C. [VIDEO]

Archaeologists have discovered the world's oldest cheese in China found buried along with mummies that date back to 1615 B.C.

A team of researchers in China has found what are believed to be the world's oldest cheese samples. The clumps of yellowish lactose-free variety of cheese were found on the necks and chests of Chinese mummies found buried in upside-down boats in an ancient cemetery in the Taklimakan Desert.

The samples of the ancient Chinese cheese date back to 1615 B.C. According to the researchers, this lactose free cheese was easy to make and was not time consuming. They assume that cheese played a major role in the spread of herding and dairying across Asia, USA Today reported.

"We not only identified the product as the earliest known cheese, but we also have direct ... evidence of ancient technology," says study author Andrej Shevchenko, an analytical chemist at Germany's Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. The method was "easy, cheap ... It's a technology for the common people," source USA Today.

This well aged cheese was made by ancient Bronze Age people. They made the low lactose cheese by mixing milk with a starter (mix of bacteria and yeast), whereas the cheese made today uses rennet, substance from the guts of young calf or lamb that is mixed with milk. The ancient technique is still employed in the making of Kefir cheese , similar to the cottage cheese.

These mummies were excavated from extraordinary cemeteries lying in the Taklimakan Desert,  near a dry river bed. The arid conditions and salt filled soil surrounding the mummies played a significant role in preserving the low lactose cheese for a longer duration than other any other specimen ever identified. Apart from this, they were buried in upside-down boats wrapped tightly in cowhide. This further vacuum packed the mummies. The tight pack and the environment has preserved the clothes and accompaniments. Researchers found well preserved felt hats, wool capes and leather boots on the bodies. The analysis of the plant seeds and animal tissues present in the tomb reveal that the burial site dates back to 1450-1650 BC, according to USA Today.

The Small River cemetery that currently is located in China's northwest autonomous region of Xinjian, was rediscovered in the year 1934 and  remained untouched for nearly 66 years. It was between 2003-2005 that the archaeologists began excavating it and found five different layers with mummies buried in boat coffins lying upside down and covered with cowhide. Most of the items in the burial site are similar to artifacts or customs in Europe, reports New York Times.

The work was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.