What Ötzi the Iceman ate before he was murdered

A mere 2 hours before his grisly murder about 5,300 years ago, Ötzi the iceman chowed down on some mouthwatering morsels: wild meat from ibex and red deer, cereals from einkorn wheat and — oddly enough — poisonous fern, a new study finds.

It's unclear why Ötzi ate the toxic fern, known as bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). But it's possible that he used the fern to wrap his food, almost like a piece of plastic wrap, and then unintentionally ingested some of the toxic spores the fern left behind, said study co-senior researcher Albert Zink, head of the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies in Bolzano, Italy.

Or perhaps Ötzi ate the fern as a type of medicine to treat his intestinal parasites, Zink said..."

This discovery comes from the first in-depth study of the iceman mummy's stomach. German hikers found the frozen remains while hiking in the Italian Alps in 1991. Since then, researchers have gleaned details about Ötzi's life by studying his remains and belongings — including that Ötzi had 61 tattoos, arthritis, bad teeth and a possible case of Lyme disease. Researchers even found that Ötzi had sharpened his tools days before his murder. ..."

One thing was certain: Ötzi's diet was heavy in fat, but this wasn't from cheese, as researchers previously guessed, said Zink and study co-senior researcher Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies. Rather, the fat came from an animal Ötzi had recently consumed, likely the ibex (Capra ibex), Zink said.

This finding made sense, as earlier research revealed that Ötzi had lactose intolerance and thus had trouble eating dairy products, Zink added. The iceman likely needed the calories from this fatty meal to help him scale the Alps, where he lived, the researchers said.

I’ve often heard there’s not much different between man of several thousand years ago to man of today other than the advances brought by science and technology.

That's true, especially through better nutrition and better medical care.

Sorta blows the evolutionary theory out of the water.

No, it doesn't - 5000 years is not a very long time for a species that doesn't reproduce for a couple of decades after birth and you would not expect to see major evolutionary differences build up in that short a time frame.

There could be some hints that the guy was slightly different from modern Europeans, though - he was lactose-intolerant, which is a bit unusual for a northern European. Lactase persistence is something which evolved fairly recently and is most often found in people of European descent. Most people of non-European descent in the world today continue to be lactose-intolerant.

The rest of the keywords (Otzi / Oetzi), sorted:

Italy's 5,000-Year-Old Iceman Put Up a Fight [DNA of 4 foes, venison and ibex his final meal] [08/14/2003]
DNA reveals how the Italian Iceman went down fighting [08/12/2003]
'Iceman' was murdered, science sleuths say [08/12/2003]
Ice Man Cometh - From Italy (Oetzi) [07/26/2003]
Secrets Of A Stone Age Rambo (Otzi, The Iceman) [05/05/2003]
Dozens of women want Bronze Age hunter's babies [04/25/2003]
Ötzi the Iceman's Microbes Still Show Signs of Life After 5,300 Years [06/03/2026]
This Artifact Was Unknown Before Ötzi the Iceman [2:55] [10/02/2025]
New DNA Study Examines Ötzi the Iceman's Neighbors [07/27/2025]
Iceman Reborn: A 5,000-Year-Old Murder Mystery [02/04/2024]
Genome Study Reveals That Iceman Ötzi Had Dark Skin and Male Pattern Baldness [08/24/2023]
New research on 5300-year-old Ötzi suggests there could be more ice mummies out there [11/12/2022]
Scientists reconstruct Ötzi the Iceman's frantic final climb [07/30/2021]
Who Was The The Mysterious Lady Of Bietikow And What Had She In Common With Ötzi Iceman? [11/07/2020]
Study Backs 5th-Century Historian's Date for Founding of Armenia [08/15/2020]
Scientists identify 5,300 year-old sinew bowstring used by Otzi the Iceman [01/12/2020]
Alongside Otzi the Iceman: a bounty of ancient mosses and liverworts [11/03/2019]
Otzi the Iceman's tools tell a story of desperation [04/08/2019]
What Otzi the Iceman's Tattoos Reveal About Copper Age Medical Practices [09/21/2018]
Salt of the Alps: ancient Austrian mine holds Bronze Age secrets [08/24/2018]
What Ötzi the Iceman ate before he was murdered [07/15/2018] (Comment #20 Removed by Moderator)
Ancient 'Iceman' shows signs of a well-balanced last meal [07/12/2018]
Otzi the iceman really was killed by an ARROW: Europe's oldest mummy (tr) [01/05/2018]
Who Killed the Iceman? Clues Emerge in a Very Cold Case [03/27/2017]
The Iceman's Stomach Bugs Offer Clues to Ancient Human Migration [01/07/2016]
New study of Iceman reveals oldest known example of red blood cells [05/09/2015]
Anthropologists Have Mapped All 61 Tattoos On Ötzi The Iceman [01/29/2015]
Scan finds new tattoos on 5300-year-old Iceman [01/24/2015]
Ötzi's non-human DNA: Opportunistic pathogen discovered in Iceman tissue biopsy [07/27/2014]
Chalcolithic catastrophe on the Mondsee [07/15/2014]
Positioning the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Hunted by the Tyrolean Iceman... [07/15/2014]
Two unknown soldiers (discovered in the Presena Glacier in the Italian Alps) [10/19/2013]
Scientists say Ötzi the Iceman has living relatives, 5,300 years later [10/16/2013]
Living Relatives Of Iceman Mummy Found (Ötzi, 5,300 Years Old) [10/14/2013]
Alpine Archaeology Reveals High Life Through the Ages [09/28/2013]
Otzi's Neandertal ancestry [05/18/2013]
Iceman Mummy Finds His Closest Relatives [11/11/2012]
Massive Gold Trove Sparks Archeological Dispute [06/21/2012]
Otzi the Iceman: scientists find 5,000-year-old blood sample [05/03/2012]
Ötzi the ice mummy's secrets found in DNA [02/29/2012]
Ice Mummy May Have Smashed Eye in Fall [12/05/2011]
Iceman Autopsy [10/29/2011]
Iceman stories begin arriving! [10/18/2011]
Iceman's 'Girlfriend' Found [ Lady of Introd ] [07/25/2011]
Iceman's Stomach Sampled -- Filled With Goat Meat [06/28/2011]
Scientists finally determine iceman Otzi's last meal [Ice Man] [06/22/2011]
The Iceman's Last Meal [06/20/2011]
Artists Recreate the Face Otzi, a 5,300-Year-Old Iceman Mummy [02/25/2011]
Iceman Oetzi gets a new face for 20th anniversary [02/21/2011]
Oetzi, the Iceman, was ceremonially buried: archaeologist [08/27/2010]
Otzi's secrets about to be revealed [07/27/2010]
Nanostructure of 5,000-year-old mummy skin reveals insight into mummification process [Oetzi] [04/22/2010]
Ã -- tzi the iceman: Up close and personal [06/06/2009]
Pile village fortification found on Lake Biel [3,200 BC] [05/15/2009]
Doctors prove that the Iceman was shot to death in the Alps [ Oetzi ] [01/28/2009]
Iceman Oetzi's Last Supper [12/01/2008]
Scientists believe 5,300-year-old mummified 'ice man' belonged to unknown branch of human fam. tree [10/31/2008]
Ancient iceman probably has no modern relatives [10/30/2008]
Prehistoric Disaster: An Alpine Pompeii from the Stone Age [10/11/2008]
Archaeologists find bones from prehistoric war in Germany [10/11/2008]
Alpine Guardians Try To Put Treasures On Ice [04/17/2008]
Researcher's Say Italy's 5,000-Year-Old Iceman Died From Head Trauma, Not Arrow (Oetzi) [08/29/2007]
Scientists say 'Iceman' died from arrow [06/07/2007]
Tattoos - The Ancient And Mysterious History [01/03/2007]
An ancient art becomes mainstream: The acceptance of tattoo art helps remove former stigma [07/26/2006]
Alpine ice man may have been childless outcast [02/03/2006]
Infertility link in iceman's DNA [02/03/2006]
Death Renews Iceman 'Curse' Claim (Oetzi) [11/05/2005]
'Iceman' (Oetzi) Might Be Contaminated [06/14/2005]
Theory: Iceman Oetzi Wore High-Tech Shoes [03/02/2005]
Alpine Iceman (Oetzi) Reveals Stone Age Secrets [02/17/2005]
'Iceman' discoverer joins his find in Alpine grave [10/23/2004]
Finder of Tyrol "Iceman" missing in Alps [10/18/2004]
After 5,000 Years, the Mystery Of Fritz Just Won't End [02/03/2004]
Iceman (Oetzi) Discoverer Claims Reward [12/22/2003]
Was Ancient Alpine "Iceman" Killed in Battle? [11/02/2003]
Iceman's bones lead scientists to his home turf [10/31/2003]
Iceman Found in Italy Didn't Wander Far [10/30/2003]

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