The 2023 paper does not undermine the credibility of ancient DNA research — it confirms that the field is capable of identifying and correcting its own mistakes.

The Contributions Beyond Genetics

The genetics story is the most recent and most striking chapter in the Ötzi research program, but it is important not to let it overshadow the contributions that the other dimensions of the research have made.

The forensic investigation of Ötzi’s death — the establishment of murder as the cause, the identification of the arrow wound, the reconstruction of the sequence of events — required decades of meticulous work across multiple disciplines.

Forensic pathology, radiology, CT scanning, toxicology, wound analysis: all of these contributed to the picture of how and when Ötzi died.