However the detection of milk residues in ceramic vessels is now considered the most promising means of detecting the origins of milking. Discovery of such residues has pushed back the earliest date for milking into the Neolithic. A study of more than 2,200 pottery vessels from sites in the Near East and Southeastern Europe indicated that milking had its origins in northwestern Anatolia.
The discovery of milk residues on ceramic vessels has led to a revised understanding of when people began milking animals.  A study of over 2,200 pottery vessels from sites in the Near East and Southeastern Europe suggests that milking originated in northwestern Anatolia during the Neolithic period.