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The amazing discovery of an ancient man frozen in the Alps continues to excite the minds of scientists
The latest thing scientists have learned about the Tyrolean "ice man" named Otzi is that he has 19 genetic relatives living in Austria, reports the.
Scientists estimate the age of a frozen person found in the mountains on the border of Austria and Italy at 5,300 years. The discovery was made in 1991.
Otzi's relatives
With the help of new DNA research, it was possible to establish a genetic link between the “ice man” discovered in the mountains and 19 people now living in Tyrol (Austria). The surprising similarity was noticed after an experiment in which about 3,700 people took part. The male chromosomes of some people had distinctive features that made it possible to classify these people as relatives of an ancient person who probably lived here several tens of thousands of years ago. This is the conclusion reached by Walter Parson from the Medical University in Innsbruck. He claims that samples from anonymous blood donors indicate they have a rare mutation known as G-L91. This mutation is also characteristic of Otzi, which means that the theory about their common ancestor is correct.
Research findings indicate that Otzi's ancestors were livestock farmers. Perhaps, during migrations, it was they who spread agriculture beyond the Alps. Otzi, who had a Y chromosome passed from father to son, belongs to haplogroup G, which has roots in the Middle East, like agriculture itself.
"Based on the evidence, it appears that the Neolithic Revolution encouraged people to move west into the Tyrol region," Parson says.
The scientist, however, is wary of any suggestion that distant relatives of Otzi should have common features with their ancestor. This may not manifest itself either in physical similarity or, for example, in taste preferences.
Otzi. Photo from wikimedia.org
Health issues
After the discovery of the ice mummy, scientists subjected the body to extensive analysis. The learning process was quite difficult. Only about 40 items on the list were descriptions of various defects of the body and organs, including worn joints, poor arterial patency, gallstones, a growth on the little toe (possibly due to frostbite), and so on.
Despite numerous wounds and bruises, including a fresh wound to the shoulder, Otzi died from a sudden blow to the head, which became fatal for the Bigfoot.
Monument at the site of death. Photo from wikimedia.org
Anatomical abnormalities
In addition to physical injuries, Otzi also had anatomical abnormalities. He had no wisdom teeth and no 12th pair of ribs. Mountain Man had a large hole between his front teeth, which is commonly called a diastema. Among scientists, a controversial question arises as to whether such physiological characteristics were a way of attracting individuals of the opposite sex. But there are also experts who consider Otzi to be completely infertile.
"Painting" by Otzi
Researchers note that the body of the Tyrolean Ice Man was covered with many tattoos. In total there are about 50 of them. These tattoos cover Otzi's body from head to toe. Moreover, they were made without the use of needles: most likely, small cuts were made on the skin into which charcoal was rubbed. Tattoos of lines and crosses were most often found on parts of the body that were most susceptible to injury or perhaps pain, such as the joints and along the back. Some researchers believe that the tattoos on Otzi's body represent ancient acupuncture points.
If this man actually underwent such healing effects, which is not surprising given his age and ailments, then the practice of acupuncture goes back much deeper than was commonly believed. In this case, the age of such techniques may be 2000 years older than currently believed.
Otzi's diet - pollen and goat meat
Finding out what this man ate is a real treat for any scientist working on this problem. The study found that Otzi's stomach contained about 30 types of pollen, indicating consumption of grains. Analysis of the remains suggests that Otzi died in the spring or early summer. Scientists were even able to find out what approximate path this man had taken along the mountain heights at the time of his death. It is assumed that death overtook him approximately two hours after his last meal. Otzi's last meal consisted of grain and mountain goat meat.
In September 1991, the ice man Ötzi was found in the Ötztal Alps on the border between Austria and Italy. This is a well-preserved mummy of a man who lived around 3300 BC. e. More precisely, death occurred between 3239 and 3105. BC e. The probability of this period of time is 67%. Currently, the mummy itself and personal belongings are in the archaeological museum in Bolzano (South Tyrol, Italy).
Iceman mummy
Discovering the Iceman
The Ice Man was found on September 19, 1991 at an altitude of 3210 meters on the eastern ridge of the Alps by German tourists Helmut and Erica Simon. They found a body frozen in the ice and decided that it was a recently deceased mountaineer. The tourists reported the discovery to the authorities, and they sent a group of people. They tried to free the body from the ice using a pneumatic drill and ice axes. But the weather turned bad and we had to abandon this attempt.
The next day, a group of climbers appeared near the body, and on September 23 it was taken out of the ice. The ice mummy was delivered to the medical examiner's office in Innsbruck. Archaeologist Konrad Spindler arrived there and on September 24 inspected the remains found. He determined the age of the mummy to be about 4 thousand years old based on the typology of the ax that was among the objects found.
Experts have admitted that the death of Ötzi (as the ice man was named after the area where he was found) was depicted on an ancient stone stele. This stone with images matched the age of the mummy and was used to create an altar in a church located in the town of Latch, not far from the place where the ice man was found. One of the drawings on the stone depicted an archer about to shoot at a fleeing unarmed man.
This is what the ice man looked like where he was found
A dispute arose between Austria and Italy over the right to own the unique find. After a thorough study of the border, it turned out that the mummy was located on Italian territory at a distance of 92.6 meters from the border established in 1919. But the Italians allowed the University of Innsbruck to complete scientific research. Since 1998, Ötzi has been in the archaeological museum of Bolzano in Italy.
Description of the ice man's body
At the time of his death, Ötzi was about 45 years old. His height was 165 cm and he weighed 61 kg. The weight of the mummy was 13.75 kg. Since the body was covered with ice, it was relatively well preserved. Analysis of the isotopic composition of tooth enamel showed that the person spent his childhood north of Bolzano, and then lived in a valley 50 km to the north.
An analysis of the intestines revealed that the last meal took place 8 hours before death. The man ate venison and grain of wheat, which apparently served as bread. High levels of arsenic and copper were found in the hair. This led experts to believe that Ötzi took part in copper smelting. Judging by the condition of the bones, he took long walks in the mountains. Hence the assumption arose that ancient man grazed cattle.
Experts studied the discovered mummy for a long time.
There were numerous tattoos on the body - 61 in total. They were black lines with a thickness of 1 to 3 mm and a length of 7 to 40 mm. These were parallel lines along the lumbar spine, as well as cross-shaped marks on the back of the right knee and on the right ankle. There were parallel lines around the left wrist. They were made by pouring fireplace ash or soot into shallow cuts in the skin. Experts suggested that they were done for the purpose of pain relief.
Cloth
The ancient man was dressed in a cloak, had a loincloth, a belt, and shoes. All this was made from various animal skins. He also wore a bearskin cap with a leather strap. The shoes were woven from tree bark, covered with deerskin, and the soles were made of bearskin. Inside the shoes was soft grass, replacing modern socks. The cloak was made of leather strips sewn together with sinew. The shoes of the ball were so good and skillfully made that experts assumed the presence of professional shoemakers at that distant time.
Guns
The ice man Ötzi had a copper ax with a yew handle, a stone knife with an ash handle, and a bow with a total length of 182 cm, made of yew. There were 14 bone-tipped arrows and a quiver. Among the things, tinder fungi (mushrooms) were found. The birch tinder fungus was apparently used for medicinal purposes, and the true tinder fungus was part of the flint, as pyrite and pyrite were also found.
Scene depicting the last moments of the life of the ice man Ötzi
The best preserved copper axe. Its blade consisted of 99% copper and reached a length of 9.5 cm. The length of the handle was 60 cm. It was carefully polished. Copper axes at that time belonged to people from the upper strata of society. So we can assume that Ötzi was not an ordinary citizen, but had a certain status.
Genetics
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA showed that the Iceman belongs to previously unknown European mtDNA. It is most associated with Southern Europe, with isolated populations such as the Sardinians and Corsicans. He had a high risk of atherosclerosis and lactose intolerance. In 2012, paleoanthropologist John Hawkes proposed that Ötzi had a high degree of Neanderthal ancestry. In 2013, 19 modern Tyrolean men were found genetically related to the Iceman. They were found among 3,700 blood donors.
Cause of death of the ice man
It was initially believed that the ice man Ötzi died as a result of a winter storm. Then it was suggested that he was the victim of a ritual sacrifice. In 2001, X-ray analysis revealed the presence of an arrowhead in the left shoulder. As a result, experts began to claim that the cause of death was loss of blood from the wound. They also found bruises, cuts to the arms, wrists, chest and brain trauma caused by a blow to the head. It is currently believed that the cause of death was a blow to the head.
The latest DNA tests showed that there were 3 people near Ötzi, as the blood of 4 people was detected. One belonged to the ice man, but the blood marks on the knife and on the cloak belonged to other people. It can be assumed that Ötzi carried a wounded comrade on his back, and behind him were 2 pursuers armed with bows and arrows.
This is how the ancient man dressed, taking into account the found mummy
In 2010, archaeologist Alessandro Vanzetti of Rome suggested that the Iceman died at a much lower altitude and was buried high in the mountains. This is indicated by the stones scattered around, which previously served as a burial platform. As a result of the thaw, they were moved in different directions. But other experts did not find this hypothesis convincing. Most scientists adhere to the violent cause of death.
Curse of the Iceman Mummy
Recently, under the influence of the “Curse of the Pharaohs”, there has been talk about Ötzi’s curse. The indirect reason for this was the death of several people associated with the discovery and study of the Ice Man. These citizens allegedly died under mysterious circumstances. A total of 7 people died, 4 of them lost their lives as a result of road accidents.
But here we must take into account that hundreds of people were involved in the study of the ice man Ötzi. And the mummy itself and the artifacts found near it are still being studied. The fact that a tiny percentage of these people died over the years does not indicate a terrible curse. People leave this world all the time, which is a completely natural natural process that has nothing to do with mysticism.
In 1991, in the Alps, two German tourists made a terrible, and at the same time, interesting discovery in the Semiluan glacier. They discovered a very well-preserved body of a prehistoric man. It was so well preserved that at first people thought they had found a modern corpse. This find caused a sensation among scientists. They wrote about her in all scientific and science fiction magazines. Scientists and journalists thought for a long time what to call the amazing find, and in 1997, on July 2, it was dubbed the “Ice Man.”
Many people call Iceman" - Otzi. This name was given to it by the Viennese reporter Karl Wendl because the prehistoric find was discovered near the Ötztal valley. The photo shows Ötzi's perfectly preserved hand. (Robert Clark)
During the research, it turned out that the Ice Man was approximately 50 years old when he died. In Neolithic times, few people lived to such an advanced age. Scientists were so captivated by the find that, with the help of computer graphics, they were able to recreate its appearance at that time in the smallest detail. They even managed to establish through DNA analysis that Ötzi had brown eyes. (Robert Clark)
Every small detail of Ötzi was important for research. Even the melt water that formed after its gradual defrosting was collected for bacterial research. (Robert Clark)
The Iceman's autopsy took 9 hours, but then the body was frozen back to avoid decomposition. (Robert Clark)
And this is the place where tourists discovered their discovery. At first, no one could imagine how old this mummy was, so simple workers removed it from the glacier using the most ordinary equipment, damaging Ötzi’s hip in the process. (Robert Clark)
And this is a vivid example of those times. The Iceman has more than 50 of them. They were applied by rubbing coal dust into the cuts. Since most of the tattoos coincide with acupuncture points, scientists believe that he did them not for decoration, but for treatment. (Robert Clark)
With this photo, scientists recreated the pose in which Ötzi lay for many years in the glacier. Along with him was his equipment: two baskets, a stone knife with a wooden handle, a copper axe, a quiver of arrows and a two-meter bow. Two types of tinder fungi were also found nearby. One was used as medicine and the other to start a fire. (Robert Clark)
The red arrow on the x-ray marks the location of the tip in Ötzi's body. (Robert Clark)
Scientists found that the Ice Man had stomach problems, which could even cause him to have an attack of appendicitis. 8 hours before his death, Ötzi had a snack. (Robert Clark)
Neurosurgeons determined that the Iceman had a head injury. (Robert Clark)
The photo shows a very valuable item from Neolithic times. A stone knife with an ash handle may have helped the Iceman more than once. (Robert Clark)
Only people with high social status used such an ax. The presence of it in the Iceman suggests that these belonged to the nobles of that time. (Robert Clark)
In addition to two ready-made arrows, in Ötzi’s quiver, blanks for 12 more arrows were found. (Robert Clark)
The Iceman may have been the first to collect a herbarium. They found a maple leaf on him, which for some reason he carried with him. (Robert Clark)
Advances in technology have allowed archaeologists to take the study of ancient artifacts to a whole new level. And today there is a mummy of an ancient European that is studied in such detail as no other. Since the discovery of a 5,300-year-old European mummy in the Italian Alps in 1991, scientists have learned a lot about the weather, genetics, migration and life of people at that time. This review contains the most interesting facts about Ötzi.
1. Alpine burial ground
A 2010 study suggested that the Alpine border where Ötzi's body was found was a burial ground rather than a murder site. The study claims that some of the strange facts would have made sense if he had died elsewhere and then been brought to a mountain pass and ritually buried. For example, the pollen found inside the mummy was a spring-blooming species, while the pollen in the ice around the corpse was a late-summer species.
2. Unique climate record
Ötzi provided unique weather information. The mummified man lay in the ice for five thousand years and during this time accumulated valuable information about the little-known “warm period”. By studying the age of the corpse and its condition, as well as the ice around it, scientists were able to track the movements of glaciers. Around 6,400 years ago (more than 1,000 years before Ötzi died), the area had warm and fertile conditions, as confirmed by soil samples.
At the time of Ötzi's assassination, there was a noticeable change in climate. His body was buried in ice very suddenly, meaning the temperature changed quickly. The cold contributed to the growth of giant glaciers, which continued for 5,000 years. It was only in 1970 that these majestic formations began to recede and have continued to melt in recent years. It was thanks to this that the body was discovered. But the warm era, which lasted for several centuries, was not known before Ötzi was found.
3. MicroRNA stability
In 2017, Ötzi and a mummified World War I soldier were subjected to innovative genetic research. The scientists wanted to test whether newly discovered biomarkers, which provide information about a person's health or living conditions, remained in the ancient tissues. Ribonucleic acid molecules, or microRNAs, tend to remain very stable.
With difficulty, the team of scientists managed to take samples from Ötzi's skin and stomach. Surprisingly, both the soldier and Ötzi had (and were stable) microRNAs. The ability of microRNAs to survive for thousands of years has been proven, and now researchers are studying the abilities of these molecules.
4. Healing tattoos
It turns out that during his lifetime Otzi constantly tried to be treated for something. Over the course of 20 years, various researchers have compiled a whole list of diseases that ancient man suffered from during his lifetime. For example (and this is not all), these were Lyme disease, gallstones, gum disease, atherosclerosis and trichuriasis.
Researchers had previously theorized a link between these diseases and the tattoos, clustered in 19 locations throughout the body. More specifically, they wondered whether this was a prehistoric form of acupuncture. In 2015, a new scan revealed previously unknown tattoos, bringing the total to 61.
The tattoos were not images of anything, but looked like crosses and lines made by rubbing charcoal into incisions in the skin. Interestingly, about 80 percent of tattoos are located along acupuncture lines that are known to modern specialists. If acupuncture was practiced during Ötzi's lifetime, it predates the earliest records of this type of treatment in China by 2,000 years.
5. Copper ax
When a valuable copper ax was found among Ötzi’s belongings, it threw up many mysteries for scientists. It was previously believed that the metal for it was mined in the Alpine region, but tests in 2016 proved that the ore originated from southern Tuscany in Italy. The results were surprising and unexpected, but the question immediately arose where Ötzi got this ax.
Elevated levels of arsenic and copper in Ötzi's hair have led to speculation that he may have forged the weapons himself, inhaling the chemicals during the manufacturing process. However, no contamination with these substances was found in other areas of the body, meaning he was neither a blacksmith nor a coppersmith.
6. Thrifty person
When Ötzi's remains were found, no one could determine who he was. The climbers who found the mummy decided that he was an unfortunate traveler, and the first researchers of the body said that he was a priest. As the research progressed, a completely different picture emerged. Ötzi was more like a modern soldier than a farmer. He was armed with a flint dagger, a yew bow, arrows and a copper axe.
The yew bow was a high-tech weapon for its time and did not appear en masse in the English army until thousands of years later. Ötzi also had a backpack with tools for making fire, canned food and a first aid kit with a lot of different herbs. The well-armed man was also well dressed: a jacket and trousers made of three layers of leather, lined with felt, a bearskin cap, a grass cloak and leather shoes. This is, to put it mildly, different from cavemen in loincloths.
7. Warrior
It was clearly not easy for the killer Ötzi. Traces of blood that were found on the mummy's weapons, tools and clothing were tested for DNA in 2003. It turned out that this was human blood belonging to four people besides Ötzi. The blood of two people was found on the arrow, i.e. Ötzi shot one, removed the arrow from his body and killed the other with it. The blood of a third man was found on Ötzi's knife, and traces of a fourth man's blood were found on his jacket.
8. 60 km in 2 days
In the last days of his life, Ötzi traveled a long way through difficult terrain. Despite his physical ailments, he was healthy. Researchers tracked his path thanks to... moss. Two types of moss that grow in damp places were found in his stomach (probably from water), and another type of moss was wrapped in goat meat that was in his backpack. Ötzi descended from the mountains into the alpine lowlands, collected peat moss, and then went back to the mountains. In 2 days he walked almost 60 kilometers.
9. Killer
Almost every expert who participated in Ötzi's research argues that the story of his murder will never be fully known. However, there is enough evidence to suggest that after Ötzi killed 4 people, he rested and felt safe. And they shot him with a bow and then finished him off.
10. Haplogroup K
The genes of the Copper Age man clarified many things for scientists, but perhaps the most interesting was that Ötzi was likely sterile. Today no one will know whether he had a family, but researchers discovered indicators of infertility in his genes in the mid-2000s.
It is also noteworthy that Ötzi was the first person ever discovered to belong to a previously unknown subcategory of haplogroup K. This means that Ötzi's mother's family most likely came from the south of the Alps or the Ötztal valley in Tyrol.
Of great interest to scientists are 10 ancient bodies found in peat bogs.
“The ancient man Ötzi met his death in the Alps about 5,300 years ago, but his descendants live to this day on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia. DNA analysis of the ice man, in addition to his age, also shows that he had brown eyes, brown hair, and was also lactose intolerant. Ötzi was found in 1991 in an Alpine glacier between Austria and Italy; Ötzi died a violent death at the end of the Neolithic.”
Albert Zink of the Institute of Mummies and Arctic Voyagers in Bolzano, Italy, and his colleagues analyzed DNA extracted from Ötzi's pelvis to learn more about his life.
MCM6 gene mutations in mummies suggest that Ötzi couldn't digest sugar lactose in milk - unlike most modern Europeans. "Maybe most people weren't lactose intolerant back then," Zink said. “The transition to animal husbandry on the European continent began approximately 5,000 to 10,000 years ago, after which milk gradually began to be digested by humans.”
Most likely, you Ötzi cardiovascular diseases developed. He had one genetic mutation, which in modern humans increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease by 40%, and two others that made him prone to the accumulation of fat on the walls of his arteries. Zink says these results are consistent with earlier studies showing that the Iceman's large arteries, including the aorta, are calcified - a sign that they have been clogged with fatty deposits. It was also possible to determine that Ötzi had blood group zero.
Scientists also compared Ötzi DNA with DNA from 1,300 Europeans, 125 North Africans and 20 people from the Arab Peninsula to establish his closest living relatives in Sardinia and Corsica. "His contemporaries disappeared from the European mainland," Zink says.
Although the DNA analyzed was partially damaged, Zink said most of it was intact and free of contamination.
Researchers have discovered an aggressive gut bacterium in a 5,250-year-old mummy. This strain, Helicobacter pylori, is endemic in parts of Asia. The discovered strain of bacteria can cause stomach ulcers or cancer.
Albert Zink said that scientists are also grateful to luck for identifying the microbe using genome analysis. "There was a very small chance of finding anything because the walls of Ötzi's stomach had decomposed," he said.
Sebastian Surbaun, a doctor at the Institute of Microbiology at Hannover Medical School who was not involved in the study, says the discovery and decoding of the DNA of the 5,250-year-old bacterium is nothing less than a "technological breakthrough."
The researchers analyzed the DNA of the entire stomach inside the mummy.
Was Ötzi a migrant?
Previously, the oldest examples of Helicobacter pylori bacteria appeared in the 1980s. This is because they were only discovered in 1983. However, people have been wearing them for probably about 100,000 years. Today, approximately half of the world's population is carriers of this bacterium.
The strain found on Ötzi is similar to bacterial species common in Central and South Asia, leading scientists to conclude that Ötzi is likely an atypical inhabitant of the Alps.
Was Otzi killed?
Mountain hikers found Ötzi's frozen body on September 19, 1991, at an altitude of 3,208 m above sea level. The mummy was perfectly preserved in the ice.
Researchers have determined that he may not have died of natural causes, as an arrowhead was found in his shoulder. Shortly before his death, he ate goat meat. Ötzi suffered from tooth decay and Lyme disease. Scientists also managed to establish the blood type of the ancient man, and also found a tattoo on his body.
Continuing research
Using the latest technology, European scientists have reached a new milestone in their research into the ice man Ötzi. For the first time since its discovery, researchers have access to the complete genetic profile of the world-famous mummy.
Experts from three institutions joined forces to map Otzi's genetic profile: the already familiar Albert Zink, Carsten Pusch from the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Tübingen and Andreas Keller from the biotechnology company febit in Heidelberg. Together they reached a historic moment in the study of the 5,000-year-old mummy. The two scientists, Zink and Pusch, worked together for some time and their joint papers were published. In collaboration with the Egyptian team led by Zahi Hawass, who made the latest conclusions about the life and health of Tutankhamun and his family.
Launching a joint project with bioinformatics expert Andreas Keller turned out to be a coup for the two biologists. Andreas Keller was able to provide the most up-to-date thanks to technology sequencing, which scientists then used to decode the millions of building blocks that make up Ötzi's genome. This allowed them to achieve results that would have taken decades to achieve using previous research procedures. They extracted a sample from the ice mummy's pelvis, and using revolutionary technology - SOLiD sequencing - from Life Technologies, they created DN library K, which were extracted from the ice man.
The ice mummy work proved to be a groundbreaking activity for the research team, as it was the first time the newly developed technology had been used to study Ötzi.
“We are dealing with old DNA, and highly fragmented one,” explains Albert Zink. “Only thanks to the latest technology with its low failure rate, we scientists were able to decipher Ötzi’s DNA in full in a short time.”
History of the name
After finding the mummy in the ice, the authorities for a long time could not decide what name to give it. As a rule, the official name in such cases is given by the geographical name of the area where the find was made, and this name must be on the state map. Here it is Hauslabjoch, 330 m from which the ice man was found. Even closer to the place of discovery there is Tisenyoh, but it is not on the maps.
While the authorities were thinking about what to call the mummy, journalists were pondering the same question. Meanwhile, reporters managed to come up with more than half a thousand names. In the name Ötzi the ancient man was named by a Viennese reporter Karl Wendl in an article published in the issue of “Arbeiter Zeitung” dated September 26, 1991. He chose this name because the remains of an ancient man were found near the Ötztal valley. The South Tyrolean government decided to officially assign this name to the mummy on 07/02/97.
Appearance
Experts concluded that Ötzi died between the ages of 40 and 50. For the Neolithic - an elderly person. Interestingly, he did not have the 12th pair of ribs, now this is a rare anomaly. Ötzi had a broken rib and nose. The toe on his left foot was probably frostbitten. There was practically no hair on the body. It is quite possible that Ötzi's hair was 9 cm long and wavy.
A study of hair showed that there is much less lead in its structure than that of our contemporaries, but more arsenic. Ötzi probably lived where arsenic bronze was processed and copper was mined.
Ötzi was missing his wisdom teeth. In general, the teeth are very worn, especially on the upper jaw, on the left, which means that Ötzi used them as a tool.
Tattoo
There are about 57 tattoos! These are dots, crosses, and lines. On the back and on the legs. To apply them to the body, they did not use needles, small cuts were made on the skin, and then charcoal was poured into them. Ötzi probably made the tattoo on areas that caused him pain. Presumably the ice man used painkillers. X-ray showed that Ötzi could suffer from arthritis. A number of scholars believe that the tattoos were made when the young Ötzi was recognized as a man.
Clothes and shoes
Ötzi wore:
Cloak woven from straw;
- belt;
- trousers;
- loincloth;
- “moccasins”;
- a cap.
We also found:
Scraper;
- drill;
- flint;
- bone awl;
- tinder;
- quiver.
British archaeologist Jacqui Wood suggested that the shoes were part of snowshoes. Based on this, Ötzi’s “backpack” was the frame and net of the snowshoes, plus a cape - a piece of animal skin.
Descendants of Ötzi
After DNA analysis, it was found that at least 19 descendants of the ice man are currently living. Employees of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the University of Innsbruck were able to identify the descendants. Scientists examined the blood of 3,700 male donors from Tyrol. Information about which of them is a distant relative of Ötzi has not been made public.
The most exciting part of the researchers' work is yet to come. Scientists are going to process huge amounts of biological data, which should contain answers to a large number of questions. Are there any genetic mutations in modern humans compared to their ancestors? What conclusions can be drawn about today's genetic diseases and other common diseases such as diabetes or cancer by examining Ötzi's genetic profile and his predisposition to various diseases? How might these findings benefit our own genetic medicine research?