The surprising last meal of Oetzi, the ice man who lived in Europe more than 5000 years ago

What did the inhabitants of Europe eat more than 50 centuries ago?

For the first time, scientists have studied in detail what was in the stomach of Oetzi, the ice man. .300 years .

The last meal of Oetzi revealed a diet with very high fat content, in addition to certain types of meat, cereals, and to the surprise of scientists, toxic ferns [19659007] The Mummy ] was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991 by German tourists and is the oldest preserved in the ice that is known.

More than two decades after the discovery, the stomach of Oetzi reveals what were the eating habits of Europeans at the age of copper

"Extraordinarily preserved"

But why did it take so long to study Oetzi's stomach?

Scientists had not been able to find the stomach because, during the natural process of mummification, had moved up .

The stomach was localized thanks to the performance of new CT scans.

"The stomach material was, compared to the samples of the small intestine previously analyzed, extraordinarily well preserved," said Frank Maixner, of the Eurac Institute of Mummy Research in Bolzano, Italy , lead author of the new study

The stomach contained large amounts of biomolecules in lipid form, "thus opening up new methodological opportunities to answer our questions about the Oetzi diet." and meat

The last meal of the ice cream man was very high in fat and also included the meat of animals such as ibex ( a type of goat ) and red deer

In the stomach of the mummy were also found remains of a cereal called spelled and traces of A toxic fern.

The percentage of fat was 50% much higher than the average of 10% in a modern diet.

"At the altitude where the ice man hunted, you need a diet that gives you a lot of energy".

"And the best way to do that is to eat fat, it will give you the energy you need to survive in a hostile climate."

The analysis revealed that the main source of fat was the fatty tissue of ibex and that about half of the stomach's contents came from fat.

"His diet was a balanced blend of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. But surprises the high-fat content that he ingested "says Maixner

Oetzi foods were then nutritious, but probably not appetizing at all.

"We're talking about goat fat and it's hard imagine the taste, although it certainly does not compare to what we eat today," said the researcher.

"And considering that there was no salt to flavor, surely the meat, all the fat and other components had an unpleasant taste."

Fern toxic

The presence of toxic fern particles in the stomach of Oetzi "is more difficult to explain."

Maixner and his colleagues believe that perhaps the man of the ice used fern as medicine against intestinal problems related to parasites that had already been found in its gut

Another possibility is that he used the fern leaves to wrap the food.

The researchers are now hoping to do more detailed analysis to reconstruct the old man's microbiota.

Violent death

Oetzi about 45 years old and measured 1 60 meters when he died violently.

The ice man had a deep cut in the hand and an injury of the arrow whose tip was found under the right armpit

When it was found, the mummy wore a goat skin and a hat and next to a copper ax and a quiver filled with arrows

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