The Tyrolean Iceman is known as one of the oldest human glacier mummies. Credit: Südtiroler Archäologiemuseum EURAC Marco Samadelli-Gregor Staschitz.
Key points:
- Initial DNA samples taken from the Iceman, known as Ötzi, were contaminated with modern DNA.
- New analysis has found that Ötzi had Anatolian farmer-related ancestry.
- The study revealed a corrected picture of Ötzi’s appearance, including dark skin and a bald head.
New DNA sequencing analysis, published in Cell Genomics, found that the initial DNA analysis of the Iceman, a human glacier mummy known as Ötzi, was inaccurate due to contamination with modern DNA.
The Iceman lived during the Copper Age in the slopes of the Eastern Italian Alps. Most present-day Europeans come from three ancestral groups: farmers from Anatolia, hunter-gatherers who merged with Anatolians 8,000 years ago, and Steppe Herders from Eastern Europe who joined the others about 4,900 years ago.
The original contaminated genome analysis found genetic traces of Steppe Herders in Ötzi’s DNA, but now advanced DNA sequencing technologies revealed the Iceman’s genome had much more ancestry in common with early Anatolian farmers.
“We were very surprised to find no traces of Eastern European Steppe Herders in the most recent analysis of the Iceman genome,” said Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. “Genetically, his ancestors seem to have arrived directly from Anatolia without mixing with hunter gatherer groups.”
The study also painted a new picture of Ötzi’s appearance. His skin was much darker than previously determined. His updated skin tone turned out to be the darkest recorded in contemporary European individuals. Based on his genes, which showed a predisposition to baldness, he likely had a sparse crown of hair rather than the long, thick hair that was previously thought.
Genes presenting an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes were also found in Ötzi's genome; however, these factors probably did not come into play thanks to his healthy lifestyle.