Some 5,300 years ago, a man now known as Ötzi died high in the Tyrolean Alps from an arrow wound to his chest. Now German and Italian researchers have recovered two intact red blood cells from the arrow wound and another corpuscle from a wound on his hand. The blood cells appear normal—even after five millennia under a glacier. They are the oldest known intact cells ever recovered from a mummy. The discovery opens the way to analyze Ötzi’s blood for diseases and to understand his general state of health. The researchers have now moved on to the contents of Ötzi’s stomach.
Blood on the Ice
Recommended Articles
Features November/December 2024
Let the Games Begin
How gladiators in ancient Anatolia lived to entertain the masses
Features November/December 2024
The Many Faces of the Kingdom of Shu
Thousands of fantastical bronzes are beginning to reveal the secrets of a legendary Chinese dynasty
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Egyptian Crocodile Hunt
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2024
Monuments to Youth
-
Features September/October 2015
New York's Original Seaport
Traces of the city’s earliest beginnings as an economic and trading powerhouse lie just beneath the streets of South Street Seaport
(Library of Congress) -
Features September/October 2015
Cultural Revival
Excavations near a Yup’ik village in Alaska are helping its people reconnect with the epic stories and practices of their ancestors
(Courtesy Charlotta Hillerdal, University of Aberdeen) -
Letter from England September/October 2015
Writing on the Church Wall
Graffiti from the Middle Ages provides insight into personal expressions of faith in medieval England
-
Artifacts September/October 2015
Corner Beam Cover
(Courtesy Chinese Cultural Relics)