Ice mummy Ötzi: what was known 30 years after the discovery?

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Thirty years ago, an ice mummy, Ötzi was discovered in the Ötztal Alps of a man killed about 5,000 years ago. The icy remains are perfectly preserved thanks to the sun, wind, and sub-zero temperatures naturally. The find quickly became a sensation. Many books have been written about Ötzi, or Ötzi, called short. These man documentaries, and even one fictional one, recreated a man’s life and manners who lived in Neolithic Europe.

Today, Ötzi is carefully looked after by researchers from the Archaeological Museum of South Tyrol in Bolzano (Italy). His body is kept in a special refrigerator, where a constant temperature of -6 degrees Celsius is maintained. Several times a year, his remains are sprayed with sterile water to create an icy protective “exoskeleton” that ensures that the ice mummy will remain in the same state in which found it. Even though three decades have moved since the discovery of Ötzi, scientists continue to study him to reveal the details of life in the Neolithic period.

Ötzi’s man – what was he like?

Oetzi was a wiry man of short stature, who was 165 centimeters. At the time of his death, he was 45-46 years old. Scientists found that Oetzi was left-handed, wearing men’s shoes of size 39. His eyes, surprisingly still in their sockets, have long been considered blue, but genomic analysis showed that scientists were wrong. The man had brown eyes and dark brown hair, as well as a typical Mediterranean skin tone.

Oetzi had lactose intolerance and a rare genetic abnormality that prevented the formation of his 12th pair of ribs. He suffered from tooth decay, intestinal parasites, Lyme disease, pain in the knees, hips, shoulders, and back. Found Sixty-one tattoos on his body. Most interestingly, they show the places of wear of his bones and joints, as well as acupuncture points.

Throughout his life, Ötzi broke several ribs and a nose, and grooves on his nails indicate that he was repeatedly exposed to physical stress in the months before his death, probably due to malnutrition. He was genetically predisposed to atherosclerosis. Computed tomography confirms that this is the oldest known case of heart disease in the world. Other mummies were also found to have cardiovascular diseases, but their age was 4000 years.

Carbon dating indicates that Oetzi lived around 3350–3110 BC. Based on its DNA signature, Ötzi was a descendant of Neolithic farmers who came through Anatolia (modern Turkey) 8000-6000 years ago, replacing European Paleolithic hunter-gatherers. His maternal genetic heritage no longer exists in modern populations, but the paternal line lives in Mediterranean islands, especially Sardinia.

When Ötzi was found, he was wearing only shoes. But later found many of the things near the place where his body had lain for 5,000 years. His boots and outerwear were made from the skins of local sheep and goats. Stuffed the shoes with grass that served as socks. The sole was made of bear leather. The fur hat is also made from the skin of a brown bear.

What equipment did Ötzi use?

Ötzi walked through the Ötztal Alps with a backpack on a wooden frame and a deerskin quiver, inside which were arrows with bone tips. He also had a flint dagger with an ash handle and a sheath. A birch bark container, similar to those still produced in the region, contained charcoal wrapped in fresh maple leaves, which would have allowed him to build a fire quickly.

One of the most important accessories is a copper ax with a trapezoidal blade. The blade is tied to the yew handle with cowhide straps. Such an ax in those days was a costly item.

What did Ötzi die of

A few hours before his death, Ötzi ate a hearty meal of wheat, deer, and mountain goat meat. Must say that it took the researchers 18 years to analyze the contents of his stomach using computed tomography. The study was complicated because the stomach moved under the ribs, where the lungs are located. By the way, thanks to the food preserved in the stomachs of other mummies, scientists also managed to find out what people ate in ancient Egypt.

The cut between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand suggests that Ötzi was stabbed several days before his death. It was an active defensive wound. He was probably trying to grab the blade. This wound was still healing when he was hit by an arrow that damaged an artery on the back left side of his shoulder. As a result, Ötzi bled out for several minutes.

Ice Man also had a significant cerebral hemorrhage, but experts disagree as to the cause. Perhaps someone finished him off with a blow to the head. There is also a possibility that he fell and hit his head on a stone. Some scholars believe that there is no conclusive evidence for any of these scenarios.

Based on the analysis of the pollen and maple leaves carried by Ötzi, he died in early summer. One theory states that warm summer winds dried it out. It is also possible that the iceman survived due to the low temperatures at the high mountain pass. Well-preserved and dehydrated brain evidence this. As a rule, it turns into a liquid along with other organs a few days after death.

Study of microflora Ötzi

Scientists from the University of Trento showed that Oetzi had three out of four strains of Prevotella copri. That is very rare since people can usually have only one P. copri strain, which takes over the others, suppresses other strains.

Another finding is that Ötzi’s gut contains the Helicobacter pylori bacterium found today in half of the world’s population, with severe or even fatal health effects in about 10 percent of those infected. The dominant H. pylori strain in Europe today is a hybrid of Asian and African strains. A purely Asian strain was found in Ötzi, suggesting that the African species arrived in Europe after death. That has implications for the debate over whether. H. pylori is a natural member of our gut flora or should be treated with an antibiotic as soon as it is discovered.

Another study of the microflora of his intestines revealed a pathogenic strain of the ancestor Clostridium perfringens, which today is a common cause of food poisoning. Finally, I note that Etzi’s research is still ongoing.