The oldest trace of the existence of butter is a limestone tablet from 2,500 B.C. Mesopotamia that portrays the various steps involved in making this foodstuff.

In Antiquity, butter was used during religious celebrations, as well as in medicine to treat skin infections, burns, and eye problems. The Greeks and Romans also used butter to soften their skin and add shine to their hair.

In Northern Europe, in past centuries, butter was also used to prevent kidney and bladder stones.

The ancient Irish, Scottish, Scandinavians, and Finns loved butter so much that they buried their dead with barrels full of it.

Around 1253, Christian missionaries in Siberia drank kumyss, a traditional fermented drink served with generous lumps of butter floating in it.

An ancient English custom is to offer a tub of butter to young married couples to ensure fertility and prosperity.

The Vikings brought butter to the West, where it was long considered a symbol of wealth. Even today, several expressions refer to it:

• "Butter is gold in the morning" (butter is an essential foodstuff)
• "Earn your bread and butter" (earn a living)
• "Fine words butter no parsnips" (actions speak louder than words)

Today in Tibet, the mistress of the house places a bit of yak butter (a bovine living in the region) on the head of guests as a gift to ensure a happy new year.

In Cameroon, the Massa use a mixture of cows' milk, butter, and pigments as body makeup during traditional festivals.

In Europe and North America, butter is mainly made from cows' milk. In Africa and Asia, butter is also made from water buffalo, camel, goat, ewe, mare, and jenny milk.