BEFORE his violent death 5300 years ago, 脰tzi the Tyrolean Iceman enjoyed a starter of ibex goat and veg, followed by red deer and possibly a side order of grains.
The Neolithic mummy, found frozen in the Alps in 1991, was fully defrosted for the first time two years ago. Now Franco Rollo and his colleagues from the University of Camerino in Italy have picked apart the DNA found in 脰tzi鈥檚 gut to determine what he had for his last supper. They report their results in a future issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Pollen in the mummy鈥檚 body also reveal that he took a stroll through a coniferous wood before arriving at the place where he died. The meaty meal, along with an arrow found in his shoulder, support the theory that 脰tzi was a hunter killed by a rival.
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