Lactose Intolerance in Europeans

[Sikeliot]

Do the areas of high frequency of lactose intolerance correspond with the areas of high Neolithic ancestry?

[Grumpy Cat]

More palaeolithic ancestors, I think. I am lactose intolerant, have a very palaeolithic haplogroup.

[Minesweeper]

Since lactose intolerance is most common in Southern Europe, we can assume it does.

[Albion]

Do the areas of high frequency of lactose intolerance correspond with the areas of high Neolithic ancestry?

How would that work? Surely farming would bring dairying?

But when we look at it, Northern Europeans are the most lactose tolerant. Personally I believe this is due to climate and conditions - much of the landscape is fit for neither arable nor permanent crops (i.e. orchards, vineyards) and so a greater emphasis was placed on animal husbandry.
The North Atlantic Islands - Iceland, Faroe, Ireland and GB would be largely useless in an agricultural sense if livestock were not kept, only England has significant arable (40%).
I think that lactose tolerant individuals would have had a greater advantage and lactose intolerants would have been slowly weeded out as they suffered from protein-devoid diet based on grain if they were a peasant (which most would have been).

Then some people have said that it could have arisen with the ancestors of R1b, R1a or I1 and subsequently spread to the other groups by mixing. As mentioned, the neolithic farmer genes are greater in the south.

Before dairying was introduced to the British Isles the neolithic farmers and the mesolithic converts to farming were struggling as the climate deteriorated. Ireland was faring worse, dairying and lactose tolerance played a large role in securing the viability of farming in the north so conferred a massive advantage.