Genetics and genealogy are two entirely separate fields of study that have begun to overlap in recent years. Scientists have been looking into the DNA of Oetzi the “Iceman”. It is pretty amazing what they could learn about him from his genes! Imagine how much could be learned about your ancestors through their DNA.
Oetzi, who is also called “the Iceman”, is the name that was given to the 5,300 year old body that was found in 1991. He was found frozen in the Italian Alps. His name comes from the Otz valley portion of the Italian Apps that he was found in. The freezing that occurred resulted in making Oetzi into the oldest natural human mummy.
In 2008, scientists took a look at Oetzi’s mitochondrial DNA. This type of DNA is important for genealogists because it can be used to connect mothers to their children. A mother passes her mitochondrial DNA to all of her children. Her female offspring can pass this same mitochondrial DNA on to their children. A mother’s male offspring cannot pass it to their children, but they do carry it.
Scientists were also able to study Oetzi’s nuclear DNA. This is the type of DNA that is found within a cell. From these two types of resources, scientists were able to learn a few things about Oetzi. They learned that his haplotype indicates that his ancestors most likely came from the Middle East.
Recently, scientists have been able to examine Oetzi’s entire genome. This was done with the use of whole-genome sequencing techniques that may not have existed when Oetzi was first discovered. They are just starting to learn from the data this has produced, but have already used it to learn more about Oetzi.
They found out that Oetzi had brown eyes. He had blood type O. His genetics indicate that he was predisposed to heart disease. It also turned out that Oetzi had an infection caused by the Lyme disease bacterium. This is the earliest documented case of Lyme disease.
It was already known that Oetzi had ancestors that came from the Middle East. A series of anomalies found in his DNA revealed that he was more closely related to the people who lived on Corsica and Sardinia than the people who lived in the Alps where his frozen body was found.
Another interesting discovery was that Oetzi was lactose intolerance. This fits with what was happening at the time that he was alive. It was a transitional period where agriculture was becoming more widespread. The people who lived back then would not have been eating or drinking foods that included milk. Oetzi’s body would not have needed to be producing lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose so that it can be digested by humans.
Image by RambergMediaImages on Flickr