The world’s oldest preserved cheese…arranged like jewelry…in the form of a dairy necklace grave good? A new discovery ticks all these boxes and is from Tarim Basin in northwestern China. For at least three people buried 3,600 years ago in Xinjiang, the question of what they want to carry into their afterlife seems clear: they chose cheese! These ancient individuals were buried with small lumps of fermented dairy, arranged around their necks. An Unusual Grave Good, A Preservation Exquisite These lumps are now recognized as the world’s oldest preserved cheese. Not only has the cheese been remarkably well-preserved, but new research is revealing its secrets, offering insights into ancient human culture and the spread of dairying practices across Asia. A new study published in the journal Cell provides fresh genetic analysis of these cheese chunks, along with other interesting information from the ancient world. The information primarily emerges from the burial of a young woman, whose preservation was enabled by the dry desert climate and her sealed coffin. When archaeologists unearthed her grave in 2003, they found her remains: she was still dressed in a felt hat, a tasseled wool coat, and fur-lined leather boots, and unusually, pieces of cheese arranged like a necklace around her neck. Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHistory & ArchaeologyRead Later