Otzi the Iceman Mummy Has Strange DNA, Shocking Scientists

Analysis of 15 contemporary skeletons shows that Otzi the Iceman was not related to his ancient neighbours – revealing secrets about extinct human lines.

Experts have just announced the results of DNA analysis of 15 skeletons also discovered in the Alps, Italy similar to the mummy of Otzi the Iceman. These bodies are all from the same age. The research results show that Otzi's ancestors were completely different from those of his neighbors. Photo: Getty Images.

"We analyzed 15 Bronze Age skeletons and found that they had a similar genetic makeup to the Iceman," said researcher Valentina Coia of the Institute for Mummy Studies in Bolzano, Italy. However, when she looked more closely at the DNA to better understand the lineage, Valentina's team was able to compare the results with that of Otzi the Iceman and found that this mummy was different from other specimens in the Alps in the area. Photo: Alamy.

In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, the team analyzed the genomes of 47 people who lived in the Tyrol Mountains between the Mesolithic and Middle Bronze Ages (around 6400 BC to 1300 BC) to learn more about their ancestry. Photo: Kennis and Kennis/South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.

The most famous remains studied this time are those of Otzi the Iceman, a man who lived about 5,300 years ago. Otzi’s mummy was found in the Alps in 1991. Photo: A. Deter-Wolf et al/Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2016.

A previous study found that Otzi had “unusually high Anatolian ancestry,” so the researchers wanted to find out whether the Iceman’s neighbors—who lived in the Alps during the Bronze Age, from 3368 BC to 3108 BC—had similar ancestry, or whether they were more closely related to hunter-gatherer groups from the Eurasian steppe. Image: Mannivu, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Analysis of ancient genomes has shown that most prehistoric people in the Alps had a high proportion of Anatolian farmer ancestry (80% - 90%) and a low proportion of hunter-gatherer ancestry. New research shows that most of these people also had similar genetic makeup and ancestry. Photo: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropogy.

The team explained that the Y chromosome data, which helps trace paternal lineages, showed that most of the men whose DNA was tested shared a common ancestor with those found in prehistoric Germany and France. In contrast, Otzi had a more distinct and common paternal lineage. Image: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropogy.

While the paternal lineages of prehistoric men living in the Alps were quite similar, their maternal lines were diverse, suggesting that women may have married into a tight-knit group of men. Photo: Leopold Nekula.

However, Otzi's maternal lineage has not been identified in any other ancient or modern individuals. From this, experts speculate that Otzi's maternal lineage may have long been extinct, with no specimens available for study. Photo: PA.

According to experts, Otzi the Iceman had a different ancestry to his contemporaries and may have come from another, previously unknown group of farmers. They may have more information about this when they find the remains of Neolithic people in Anatolia and northern Italy. Photo: Channel 4.

Readers are invited to watch the video : Excavation of an 800-year-old mummy in Peru. Source: THĐT1.

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