Yes, and lactose tolerance in adulthood seems to have evolved quite recently (7000 BC IIRC). Of course, human infants are already lactose tolerant (so they can

Yes, and lactose tolerance in adulthood seems to have evolved quite recently (7000 BC IIRC). Of course, human infants are already lactose tolerant (so they can suckle). I'm guessing the switch-off evolvee for involuntary weening, and had survival value. I believe bread, beer and wine pre-date cheese, and so the idea of a transformation through some agent wasn't that far-fetched. And milk obviously is nutritous. I'm not sure, but can you make sorta cheese, in the way that rotting fruit is natural fermentation, and dough can rise from wild-yeast (and unlevened bread was being eaten already). Once the idea is born, you can work to improve it. It's easy to think of primitive humans as dummies, but they were probably smarter than most of us, and once they got an idea, they would tweak it. Plus, it only takes one clever and lucky person in a network of communities to hit on an improvement, for it to spread. But there's a question of why the lactose tolerant mutation spread so widely... was there a starvation event? An outcompeting, or invasion by stronger, milk-fed warriors? But I expect cheese making eating was very wide-spread well before this event, and it was a great source of calories. Blessed are the cheese makers.