The high alpine location itself is somewhat unusual: this was not a well-traveled route or a comfortable camping place but a specific hollow in the high mountains, suggesting Ötzi had reason to be there beyond simple passage through the Alps.

These are all speculations, informed by the evidence but extending beyond what the evidence can definitively prove.

The murder is established.

The murderer and their motivation remain, five thousand years later, unknown.

What His Gut Microbiome Said

The analysis of Ötzi’s gut microbiome — the community of microorganisms that inhabited his digestive system — represents one of the more surprising frontiers of mummy research, and one that has produced findings with implications beyond his individual case.

Research published in 2016 used advanced DNA sequencing techniques to characterize the bacterial community in Ötzi’s gut.