In the high peaks of the Tyrolean Alps, Ötzi the Iceman lay hidden for millennia until a group of curious hikers stumbled upon him in 1991. Ötzi, an ancient traveler whose life was tragically cut short by an arrow approximately 5300 years ago, has remained a global fascination since his discovery. For years, Ötzi was envisioned to have unruly, long hair and fair skin. However, a recent genetic analysis has offered a fresh perspective, challenging our preconceived notions and providing new insights into this historical figure.
Recent discoveries suggest that Ötzi actually had a dark complexion and was bald. Albert Zink, an anthropological researcher at Eurac Research in Bolzano, Italy, notes that this revelation provides a more fitting explanation for Ötzi’s actual appearance because it reflects the wide range of people present in Europe at the time that Ötzi was alive.
A pivotal moment in Ötzi’s analysis occurred in 2012 when researchers published an initial draft of his genome, making it one of the earliest ancient genomes ever sequenced. This analysis portrayed Ötzi with pale skin, brown eyes (challenging the widely-held belief that Europeans primarily had blue eyes), and steppe ancestry. The presence of steppe ancestry was perplexing because prevailing research had suggested that steppe herders did not migrate to Europe until a millennium after Ötzi’s death.
Over the years, advances in DNA technology paved the way for researchers to revisit Ötzi’s genetic makeup. This time, researchers meticulously collected shards from Ötzi’s exposed hip bone and sent them to Germany for sequencing. The results of this higher-quality analysis casted a new light on the iceman. It became evident that Ötzi’s suspected steppe ancestry likely resulted from modern DNA contamination in the old analysis. These early agriculturalists, residing in the region between the Mediterranean and Black Seas, migrated to Europe and mingled with local hunter-gatherers. Nonetheless, Ötzi’s genetic makeup reveals a unique story: he possessed minimal European hunter-gatherer DNA, indicating that his lineage was genetically distinct from other Europeans of his time. Furthermore, Ötzi’s skin-pigmentation markers proved that he had more melanin than previously assumed; accordingly, his skin was darker than that of modern Sicilians. Additionally, genetic markers for male-pattern baldness were identified, suggesting that Ötzi may have experienced balding before he passed.
Pontus Skoglund, an ancient-genome researcher, described Ötzi’s Anatolian ancestry as unsurprising, given the presence of Anatolians in Europe during his lifetime. Nevertheless, this enhanced genome provides a valuable addition to the comprehensive portrait that researchers have meticulously crafted of Ötzi’s life and final moments. This latest genetic analysis emphasizes the fact that Ötzi, Europe’s oldest mummy, continues to offer intriguing revelations. As Albert Zink puts it, “[T]here will always be new doors opening for research.” In the enduring mystery of Ötzi the Iceman, each scientific revelation adds depth to the narrative of this ancient traveler, reminding us that the past is an ever-evolving story.
