Analysis of his gut microbiome more broadly revealed a community strikingly different from modern Western populations, consistent with the different diet and environment of the Copper Age.

His arteries showed early signs of atherosclerosis — hardening and plaques in the arteries — which was surprising given his apparently active lifestyle and the presumed healthiness of a pre-industrial diet.

This finding suggested that cardiovascular disease has deeper roots in human biology than lifestyle alone, and that genetic predisposition to atherosclerosis was present in European populations at least as early as the Copper Age.

His stomach showed evidence of gallstones.