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.
“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
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.