Originally Posted by
Lavabe
The Maasai are a classic example. Now that I think of it, the Fulani are probably the ones you originally mentioned. They ORIGINALLY were nomadic, but truly are not these days. Both the Maasai and Fulani are classic examples of people who have elevated rates of lactose tolerance (ability for adults to digest milk) in areas where lactose intolerance is otherwise the norm (NOTE: most of the world is lactose intolerant). Both groups had similar traditional diets (meat, milk). FWIW, lactose intolerance is affected by a specific gene, so this is usually a great case to discuss how humans are affected by changes in gene frequency or structure over time (i.e., evolution). The examples are pretty much basic stuff in intro to biological anthropology classes.
Of course, if you take in yogurt, you let the bacteria break down the sugar lactase!
Cheers,
Lavabe