Famous Iceman has living relatives

New genetic analysis shows Otzi the Iceman, a 5 300-year-old preserved mummy found in the Italian Alps in 1991, has living relatives in the region.

The study, published in the journal, Forensic Science International: Genetics, found that Otzi “has at least 19 male relatives on his paternal side”, according to a report in livescience.

Otzi’s body was “was astonishingly well preserved when he was uncovered in the Ötztal Alps”, says the report. Scientists have since discovered that he “had tooth decay, ate an agricultural diet and had Lyme disease”.

According to the new genetic analysis study, 19 out of 3 700 DNA Austrian blood donors were found to share a rare Y-chromosome mutation, which Otzi also carried.

Study co-author and forensic scientist at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Innsbruck, Austria, Walther Parson says, “Those 19 are closer related to the Iceman than other individuals. We usually think about our families when we talk about relatives. However, these data demonstrate that DNA can also be used to trace relatives much further back in time.”

In order for this genetic analysis to be successful, the 3 700 men gave blood donations and provided data on their ancestry. Unfortunately women were unable to take part in the study because of a varying procedure that would have been undertaken to match their genes.