Prehistoric Babies Drank Animal Milk From Bottles

Breast or bottle? Apparently, parents of infants have been pondering these options for thousands of years.

So suggests a new study released Wednesday by the journal Nature. The researchers report finding nonhuman milk residue inside a type of ancient spouted clay bowl that sometimes featured animal feet and heads. The earliest examples of this kind of vessel — which the researchers are calling prehistoric baby bottles — date back more than 7,000 years.

"I can just imagine a little prehistoric child being given one of these with milk of the University of Bristol. "They're just fun. They're like a little toy as well." She says the animal-shaped vessels seem to represent "mythical animals" rather than realistically depicting any particular type of creature.