South Tyrol Archaeological Museum/Ochsenreiter
Ötzi’s reconstruction of the Iceman is on display at the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum.
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Ötzi the Iceman, a frozen corpse found by a hiker in a high valley in the Tyrolean Alps in 1991, is perhaps the most closely studied corpse in the world.
His violent death, the mystery of who he was and how he got to the pass have aroused interest far beyond archaeology. Every year thousands of people visit his mummy, which is kept in a special cold room at the South Tyrolean Archaeological Museum in Bolzano, Italy.
A new study of ancient DNA extracted from Ötzi’s pelvis suggests he still has secrets to give up. Analysis of his genetic makeup revealed that the 5,300-year-old mummy had dark skin, dark eyes, and was probably bald. This contrasts with Ötzi’s restoration, which depicts a fair-skinned man with a thick head of hair and a beard.
“It was previously thought that his skin had darkened during the mummification process,” said Albert Zink, director of the Mummy Research Laboratory at Yurac Research, a private research center based in Bolzano.
“The mummy’s dark skin tone seems to be very close to Iceman’s skin tone.” A lifetime,” said Zink, co-author of the study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Cell Genomics.
It’s not too surprising that Ötzi is dark-skinned, Zink said in an email, noting that many Europeans Skin pigmentation may have been darker at the time than many Europeans today.
“Early European farmers were still fairly dark-skinned, but over time they changed to light-skinned, adapting to changes in climate and the diets of farmers. They have much less vitamin D in them,” he explained.
“It appears that Iceman was still consuming a significant amount of meat, which was also confirmed by an analysis of his stomach showing the presence of ibex and deer meat,” he added.
Archaeological Museum of South Tyrol/Eurak/Marco Samaderi-Gregor Stasitz
Ötzi’s mummified remains are probably the most thoroughly studied archaeological finds in the world.
Johannes Krauss, co-author of Zink and head of the archaeogenetics department at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said the findings suggest that the Iceman in life closely resembles the mummy itself. said to suggest that
“It’s remarkable how much the reconstruction is biased by our own preconceptions about Stone Age humans coming from Europe,” Krause said in a statement.
Archaeologist Lars Holger Pirro, co-director of Norway’s Secrets of Ice project, said ancient DNA analysis suggested Ötzi had male pattern baldness, but how much he had already lost his hair during his lifetime. said it was impossible to ascertain whether He had studied Ötzi, but was not involved in the latest research.
“It’s quite possible that Ötzi was bald for genetic reasons, but in my opinion, his current near-total baldness most likely occurred after his death,” Pirro said. Told.
“Skin hairs often fall out during the stay (of the corpse). The epidermis decomposes outside the ice (and sometimes in water). ”
The genome sequenced from DNA taken from Ötzi’s pelvis was more complete than the previous genome assembled in 2012, when the field of ancient DNA was still in its infancy, according to the study. Piro said the latest research could also help solve the conundrum about Ötzi’s ancestry.
“By applying new methods, Ötzi has been able to continue to give scientific talent,” Pirro added.
New research indicates that this early result was likely due to contamination with modern human DNA.
“Advancements in sequencing technology allowed us to generate a high-coverage genome for Iceman, which allowed us to obtain more accurate results,” Zink said.
Archaeological Museum of South Tyrol/Dario Flasson
This is where Ötzi was discovered in the Italian Alps.
The genome also appears to rule out previously proposed genetic similarities between Ötzi and modern Sardinians.
When researchers in the new study compared Ötzi’s genome to that of other ancient humans, he found that he had little in common with early Anatolian farmers from present-day Turkey, who had less interaction with his European hunter-gatherer contemporaries. Turns out there are a lot of points.
“It doesn’t completely change our knowledge of the Iceman, but it does make some things clearer,” Zink explained. “The Iceman likely lived in a relatively isolated area with limited contact with other populations and low gene flow from populations related to hunter-gatherer ancestry. Masu.”
Nearly every part of Ötzi and his belongings have been analyzed to reveal what life was like 5,300 years ago.
stomach contents provided information about his last meal and where did he come from his weapon revealed that he was right-handedand his clothes are A rare look that gives you a glimpse of what ancient people really wore. Zink said the team would like to reveal more details, such as the makeup of his microbiome.
South Tyrol Archaeological Museum/Marion Lafogler
An expert humidifies Ötzi’s mummy at the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum.
This isn’t the first time a chapter in Ötzi’s fascinating story has been rewritten, Pirro said.
Initially, Ötzi was thought to have frozen to death, but An X-ray in 2001 revealed an arrowhead He suffered a serious injury to his shoulder, which would have been fatal. He probably also suffered a head injury at the same time, and a defensive wound can be seen on his right hand.
“The whole Iceman story is interesting, including the mystery of his violent death and the question of why he was in the high mountains when he was killed,” Zink said.