Milk: Evolution/History Why milk?  First food for all people  Only naturally occuring food that exists only to feed (plants/animals have their own lives) Mammals – ‘creatures of the breast’ First sources of milk: ewe, goat, cow Early Indo-Europeans were the 1 st dairy farmers, milk & butter figure prominently in many cultural creation myths (pg.8)

Evolution Milk first arrived with the advent of Mammals (~300 mya) Possible uses include:  providing a protective coating/nourishing skin secretion for vulnerable hatchlings (seen today in the platypus).  Allowing rapid development outside the womb  Provide vehicle for antibodies/etc. from mother to offspring.

Ruminants - so named for their habit of ruminating or "chewing the cud" (regurgitating and re-chewing their food) - are considered to be the most advanced artiodactyls, and they are certainly the most numerous and widespread of the world's modern-day ungulate fauna. Their great success is due to a very specialized digestive tract, which allows these ungulates to thrive on relatively poor vegetation. Ruminants All ruminants have a four- chambered stomach. The dental formula is generally I 0/3, C 0/1, P 3/3, M 3/3 x 2 = 32, although in members of the Tragulidae, Moschidae, and some Cervidae the upper canine may be present (total teeth 34). The cheek teeth have selenodont (crescent-shaped) ridges, which grind food efficiently with the side-to-side chewing motion characteristic of this group.

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