Ancient ‘Iceman’ shows signs of a well-balanced last meal in the Alps

NEW YORK Talk about a paleo diet. Scientists have uncovered the last meal of a frozen hunter who died 5,300 years ago in the Alps.

The stomach contents of the corpse, widely known as Oetzi the Iceman, offer a snapshot of what ancient Europeans ate more than five millennia ago, researchers said.

On the menu, described Thursday in the journal Current Biology, were the fat and meat of a wild goat, meat of a red deer and whole wheat seeds, which Oetzi ate shortly before his death.

Traces of fern leaves and spores were also discovered in Oetzi's stomach. Scientists think he may have swallowed the plant unintentionally or as a medicine for parasites previously found in his gut.

“It was very impressive,” said lead author Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at the Institute for Mummy Studies in Bolzano, Italy. “We could see chunks and pieces of food with (the) naked eye.”

Though the researchers had previously examined Oetzi’s intestines, this was the first time they could look into his stomach.

Nearly half the stomach contents were identified as the body fat of an ibex, a wild goat that still lives in the Alps. That’s a lot of fat. But scientists think the finding makes sense.

“It’s a harsh environment,” said Maixner, who has climbed to the cold and windy site where Oetzi was found. “They had to be prepared. They had to have food that gave them the necessary energy (to survive).” ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.