Submitted by BethBradshaw on 25 October 2017
When two German tourists found a body frozen in the ice on a ridge in the Alps, they assumed it was a mountaineer and reported it to the police, but an axe frozen alongside him revealed him to in fact be around 5,300 years old.
Ötzi the Tyrolean Iceman is Europe’s oldest known natural mummy. Different causes of death have been debated over the years, including bleeding to death from an arrow wound or being overtaken by a snowstorm. He may have been weakened by hunger, recent illnesses and infestation with parasitic whipworms.
On top of those problems, DNA from Aspergillus (probably fumigatus) was detected in his lungs by Dr Cano of California Polytechnic State University. But it is not known whether the fungus was causing disease or from post-mortem contamination.
– Read more about Ötzi on Wikipedia
– Read more about fungi causing biodeterioration of mummified Capuchin monks and ancient parchments.
News archives
-
Title
Date
