Frozen mosses reveal clues to iceman ötzi’s final journey
Published: 4 November 2019
The study in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck identified at least 75 species of brypophytes preserved with the Iceman, holding important clues to Ötzi’s final surroundings and last moments
Clues to the final journey of Ötzi – a remarkable 5,300-year-old human corpse found frozen in ice in the Italian Alps – have now been revealed through the identification of mosses and liverworts frozen with the Iceman, according to new University of Glasgow research.
The study –published in PLOS ONE and in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck – identified at least 75 species of brypophytes – mosses and liverworts –preserved with the Iceman, holding important clues to Ötzi’s final surroundings and last moments.
Emeritus Professor Jim Dickson, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (and former Professor of Archaeobotany and Plant Systematics), has been studying the world-famous Iceman since 1994.
The paper ‘Seventy Five Mosses and Liverworts found frozen with the Late Neolithic Tyrolean Iceman: Origins, Taphonomy and the Iceman’s Last Journey’ is published in Plos One.
First published: 4 November 2019
