What Killed Otzi the Iceman: Brain Injury Revealed in 5000-Year-Old Mummy

Otzi the Iceman is famed for being Europe's oldest natural human mummy. Discovered near the Similaun mountain on the border between Austria and Italy, the preserved body has offered an unprecedented view of Chalcolithic Europeans. Now, researchers may be learning a little bit more about this mummy. After decoding the Iceman's genetic makeup, a team has found out exactly how he died.

Otzi is one of the most well studied specimens in the world. He probably lived around 3,300 BC, and was first discovered by two German tourists hiking on a path between mountain passes. Estimated to be about five feet five inches tall and about 45 years of age at the time of his death, the man probably spent most of his childhood near the present village of Feldthurns. He met a violent end toward the end of his life, though. Scientists found an arrowhead lodged in his left shoulder, which means that he could have been attacked shortly before his death.

Researchers have continually conducted tests on the Iceman in order to glean as much information as they can about his ancient past. In 2007, researchers noticed two dark colored areas at the back of the corpse's cerebrum during a discussion about the fracture to his skull. At the time, they theorized that the Iceman had received a blow to the forehead during his deadly attack that caused his brain to knock against the back of his head. This would have created dark spots from the bruising. Until now, though, this theory hadn't been verified.

In order to find out whether this blow to the head may have actually occurred, researchers conducted a computer-controlled endoscopy. The scientists extracted two pinhead-sized samples of brain tissue from the frozen corpse. After examining these samples, the researchers made some surprising findings.

First off, the scientists were able to identify numerous brain proteins as well as proteins from blood cells. In fact, the neural cell structures and clotted blood cells were extremely well preserved. The fact that these blood clots were present points to the fact that Otzi suffered bruising shortly before his death. Whether this was the result of a blow to a forehead or a fall, though, remains unclear. Yet this impact is probably what killed him--not the arrowhead lodged in his shoulder.

"Proteins are the decisive players in tissues and cells, and they conduct most of the processes which take place in cells," said Andreas Tholey, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Identification of the proteins is therefore key to understanding the functional potential of a particular tissue."

The findings could tell researchers a bit more about not only Otzi, but about our ancient ancestors. The Iceman represents a time 5,000 years ago when humans were eking out a living in small communities and could give researchers a glimpse into our past.

The findings were published n the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.