A new look at Ötzi the Iceman’s DNA reveals new ancestry and other surprises
Ötzi was balding, dark-skinned and didn’t have ancestors from the Caspian steppe
![An overhead photo of the Iceman Ötzi mummy lying on a white table.](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/081523_ts_otzi_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Though the Iceman mummy’s skin is obviously dark, scientists used to think that was a result of being frozen in a glacier for more than 5,000 years. A new genetic analysis reveals that Ötzi really was dark-skinned.
Südtiroler Archäologiemuseum, Marco Samadelli/EURAC, Gregor Staschitz