The maple leaves used to wrap the embers in the container were identified as Sycamore maple, a species native to the region.

His grass cloak was identified as made primarily from alpine sedge grasses, woven in a technique that was traditional in this region into relatively recent historical times.

The specific technique and materials connect Ötzi’s grass technology to a tradition that apparently persisted in the Alpine region for many centuries after his death.

The botanical evidence, in combination with the other food remains, suggests a man who was moving through a specific ecological environment that he knew well — using the plants available at different altitudes for different purposes, carrying cultivated grain from the valleys while hunting wild animals in the high country.

The Copper Age World Beyond The Alps