Ancient iceman probably has no modern relatives

[Aragorn]

"Otzi," Italy's prehistoric iceman, probably does not have any modern day descendants, according to a study published Thursday.

A team of Italian and British scientists who sequenced his mitochondrial DNA -- which is passed down through the mother's line -- found that Otzi belonged to a genetic lineage that is either extremely rare or has died out.

Otzi's 5,300-year-old corpse was found frozen in the Tyrolean Alps in 1991.

"Our research suggests that Otzi's lineage may indeed have become extinct," Martin Richards of Leeds University in Britain, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

"We'll only know for sure by sampling intensively in the Alpine Valleys where Otzi was born."

The findings published in the journal Current Biology reverses previous research from 1994 on a small section of Otzi's DNA that suggested the so-called "Iceman" had relatives living in Europe.

But Richards and colleagues said their analysis confirmed that Otzi belonged to a previously unidentified lineage that has not been seen to date in modern European populations.

Scientists were thrilled to find Otzi's mummified body had remained frozen, and so almost perfectly preserved, for more than 5,000 years.

An arrowhead was found in his left shoulder, suggesting Otzi did not simply freeze to death while climbing the high mountains. Evidence shows he was likely a hunter.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081030/...DCm24rPTUhANEA

[Beorn]

What an amazing honour it would be to discover you are related to these long deceased men/women.
It reminds me of the Cheddar Man who it transpired had living relatives still dwelling in the area.

[Jimbo Gomez]

What an amazing honour it would be to discover you are related to these long deceased men/women.
It reminds me of the Cheddar Man who it transpired had living relatives still dwelling in the area.

Not sure why it would be such an honour. Every person on the planet descends from somebody who lived contemporary with Otzi. The only thing that distincts their ancestors from him is that they didn't freeze to death, and their corpses have rotted away. For all we know, Otzi was a scoundrel and a thief, and that arrow in his back was put there by one of his victims. Could be that he was an innocent victim of a scoundrel himself too, obviously. We'll never know.

[Beorn]

Not sure why it would be such an honour. Every person on the planet descends from somebody who lived contemporary with Otzi.

The honour being that you can claim to have distinct ancestral ties going back further than records ever could.

Granted we all have ancestors trailing back to Otzi's time, but to actually have a body to look upon; and the world to recognize your lineage, to me, is an honour.