Ötzi the ice mummy's secrets found in DNA

NewScientist ^ | 2-26-2012 | Andy Coghlan

[Renfield]

Ötzi the ice mummy may have met his death in the Alps some 5300 years ago, but his descendants live on – on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The finding comes from an analysis of Ötzi's DNA, which also reveals he had brown eyes and hair, and was lactose intolerant.

The ice mummy was found in 1991 on an Alpine glacier between Austria and Italy, where he met a violent end in the Neolithic.....

[Renfield]

Ötzi Ping...

[WayneS]

Maybe too much woolly mammoth milk is what killed him...

[mosaicwolf]

I think he died when his heart stopped beating. Just like we all do. Guess that is called a heart attack.

[QBFimi]

We ought be thankful that Ötzi didn’t have any Native American relatives, otherwise research would have been cut short and the remains reburied.

Up until the ‘90s, the skeletons and skulls on display at Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado gave a clear picture of how short, brutish and nasty life was in the “good old days”. Although most of this has been supressed, here’s a quick read - 1932 vintage - on the subject: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/meve/notes/vol3-2g.htm

One skull that stands out in my memory was a young female - an abscessed canine tooth had dissolved the bone below it and literally sawed her lower jaw in half. She was well known in Denver dental schools - students had even named her.

[Prospero]

Based on his calcified aorta and genetic propensity for heart disease the fatal injury or mortal wound may have led him to keel over at the ripe old age of 35.

I'm not a fan of New Scientist though I do read the teaser on an article there at least once a week. They've a full head on of the new religion of no religion (still, a religion, nonetheless) and the new convert's passion for evangelism.

How about that new magazine they were advertising. "The Future Always Wins."

[preacher]

“We ought be thankful that Ötzi didn’t have any Native American relatives, otherwise research would have been cut short and the remains reburied.”

Like Kennewick Man

[albionin]

clone him.

[Savage Beast]

"how short, brutish and nasty life was in the 'good old days'”

For an excellent evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of Western Civilization and its spread through colonialism, see The West and the Rest by the highly intelligent and refreshingly honest Niall Ferguson.

His wife is Ayann Hirsi Ali.

One result of colonialism was a dramatic increase in life expectancy and decrease in morbity and mortality from communicable diseases.

[blueunicorn6]

Sorry.....thought this was a hockey mom story.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Renfield. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[gleeaikin]

Here is another link that might have additional information.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/otzi-the-icemans-genome-reveals_n_1307532.html?ref=science&ncid=webmail11