Mysteries Department
Sign inRequest access
0

Did kefir spread to East Asia from the North Caucasus, or did it have another route through Xinjiang?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of How did a genetically isolated people come to herd cattle and sheep, make cheese, weave wool and grow wheat and millet?·3 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: kefir also spread from Xinjiang into inland East Asia, by a route independent of the CaucasusAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. Kefir also spread from Xinjiang into inland East Asia, by a route independent of the Caucasus. leads, with evidence 1 for: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

The Xiaohe cheese is the oldest kefir known, and its bacteria are a dated sample of a domesticated microbe⁠[1]⁠[2]. Its lineage bears on where the practice came from.

Answers 3

Evidence: 1 for
Most likely
Evidence: 1 against
Disputed
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible

History

  1. Liu et al. puts forward: kefir originated in the North Caucasus and spread east from there.
  2. Liu et al. puts forward: kefir also spread from Xinjiang into inland East Asia, by a route independent of the Caucasus.
  3. Liu et al.: the Xiaohe L. kefiranofaciens groups with the Tibetan rather than the European lineage.Against: Kefir originated in the North Caucasus and spread east from there.
  4. Liu et al.: the ancient strain is closer to the Tibetan group and East Asian strains later gained defensive gene clusters.For: Kefir also spread from Xinjiang into inland East Asia, by a route independent of the Caucasus.
  5. Asked on this site
Add evidence
1What it bears on2What you found3Where it comes from
Which answer?
Does it count for or against it?
In a sentence, what did you find?
What you found optional
Where it comes from optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Propose an answer
Your answer, in a sentence
What would rule it out? optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Ask a sub-question
Your question
Why it would help optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Add a source
The source
What it shows about this question optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.

Discussion 0

Add to the discussion