The history of humankind is marked by the constant adoption of new dietary habits affecting human physiology, metabolism, and even the development of nutrition-related disorders. Despite clear archaeological evidence for the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture in Neolithic Europe [1], very little information exists on the daily dietary habits of our ancestors. By undertaking a complementary -omics approach combined with microscopy, we analyzed the stomach content of the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old European glacier mummy [2, 3]. He seems to have had a remarkably high proportion of fat in his diet, supplemented with fresh or dried wild meat, cereals, and traces of toxic bracken. Our multipronged approach provides unprecedented analytical depth, deciphering the nutritional habit, meal composition, and food-processing methods of this Copper Age individual. Maixner et al. report the dietary reconstruction of the Iceman's last meal using a combined multi-omics approach. The stomach content analysis of the 5,300-year-old glacier mummy shows that the Iceman's diet preceding his death was a mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, well adjusted to the energetic requirements of his high-altitude trekking.
The Iceman's Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals / F. Maixner, D. Turaev, A. Cazenave-Gassiot, M. Janko, B. Krause-Kyora, M.R. Hoopmann, U. Kusebauch, M. Sartain, G. Guerriero, N. O'Sullivan, M. Teasdale, G. Cipollini, A. Paladin, V. Mattiangeli, M. Samadelli, U. Tecchiati, A. Putzer, M. Palazoglu, J. Meissen, S. Lösch, P. Rausch, J.F. Baines, B.J. Kim, H. An, P. Gostner, E. Egarter-Vigl, P. Malfertheiner, A. Keller, R.W. Stark, M. Wenk, D. Bishop, D.G. Bradley, O. Fiehn, L. Engstrand, R.L. Moritz, P. Doble, A. Franke, A. Nebel, K. Oeggl, T. Rattei, R. Grimm, A. Zink. - In: CURRENT BIOLOGY. - ISSN 0960-9822. - 28:14(2018), pp. 2348-2355.
Titolo: | The Iceman's Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals |
Autori: | |
Parole Chiave: | ancient DNA; diet; European Copper Age mummy; Iceman; last meal; lipidomics; microscopy; multi-omics study; proteomics; stomach content; Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (all); Agricultural and Biological Sciences (all) |
Settore Scientifico Disciplinare: | Settore L-ANT/01 - Preistoria e Protostoria Settore L-ANT/10 - Metodologie della Ricerca Archeologica |
Data di pubblicazione: | 2018 |
Rivista: | |
Tipologia: | Article (author) |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.067 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 01 - Articolo su periodico |
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