A new study has found that the mummified man known as Ötzi enjoyed feasting on ibex and deer meat. Previous studies chronicled the ancient human's battles against infection, dental cavities, stress and Lyme disease.
Image: picture-alliance/Eurac via Eurekalert/Southtyrolarchaeologymuseum/M. Samadelli
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Ötzi, the Alpine man whose well-preserved mummified body became a global sensation, had a fatty stomach full of Alpine ibex, deer and grains when he died some 5,300 years ago, according to a new study by the Italy-based Institute for Mummy Studies.
Ötzi likely ate the meat raw or cooked, researcher Frank Maixner said, adding that ibex and deer were a regular delicacy for him and his ancient contemporaries.
Fat also made up some 50 percent of Ötzi's stomach contents at the time of his death. High amounts of fat, Maixner said, gave ancient Alpine wanderers the energy necessary to hike at high altitudes for extended periods of time.
Maixner and his colleagues have published the findings in the scientific journal Current Biology.
The world's most famous glacier mummy was discovered 25 years ago. Since then, researchers in Italy's South Tyrol region have coaxed tons of secrets from Ötzi's 5,250-year-old body.
Today, Ötzi's final place of rest is the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. But for a while it wasn't clear which country the mummy would go to. After it was discovered on September 19, 1991, both Austria and Italy laid claim to Ötzi. Official measurements finally revealed that he was found 92.56 meters (303.67 feet) behind the border - on Italy's side.
Image: AP
Unknown identity
At first, however, no one realized what a sensational discovery a couple from Bavaria had made on their hike. It was assumed the body belonged to a tourist who had recently frozen to death. One man claimed the dead John Doe was his uncle, others thought he was a victim of the biblical Deluge. When researchers discovered the truth, the archaeology world was beyond excited.
Image: dapd
Tattooed murder victim
Ötzi had 61 tattoos - no mermaids or kids' names, but lines and crosses. The Stone Age tattoo artist cut Ötzi's skin and filled the wounds with coal. Sounds painful? Not as bad as this: Ötzi was killed by an arrow shot through his shoulder from behind, as researchers at the archaeology museum in Bozen discovered.
Researchers could also find out what Ötzi ate shortly before his death by analyzing the contents of his stomach. His last meal was rich and fatty. It consisted, among other foods, of a Stone Age grain and goat meat.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/EURAC/Marco Samadelli
Modern ailments
Ötzi had many health issues that today's patients are still familiar with. He had cavities, Lyme disease, fleas and a smokers' lung from inhaling camp fire smoke. On top of that, Ötzi was lactose-intolerant and suffered from a helicobacter stomach infection as well as circulation problems. If the arrow hadn't killed him, he would have dropped dead sooner rather than later.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Material mix
In 2015, the "Ötzi Walkers" hiked through western Germany promoting a Stone Age exhibition. For their clothes, they tried to stay as true as possible to Ötzi's outfits. He wore a brown bear fur hat, goat leather pants and a coat made of a goat-sheep skin mix.
Image: DW/C. Bleiker
Ötzi times two
The glacier mummy was a unique discovery. To give more people access to Ötzi, however, his body was copied in April 2016. Using a 3d-printer, researchers in Bozen created a second Ötzi made of resin, which was then painted with all the details of the original by US paleo-artist Gary Staab. The copy went to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's DNA Learning Center in New York state.
Tourists found Ötzi frozen in ice in the Ötztal Alps in 1991. But analysis of the man's stomach was only recently possible after researchers in 2009 found that it had shifted to another part of his body.
Previous studies of Ötzi's body found that he was lactose intolerant and suffered from an infection, dental cavities, stress and Lyme disease.
