Six mosses from the Tyrolean Iceman’s alimentary tract and their significance for his ethnobotany and the events of his last days

Dickson, J. H.; Hofbauer, Wolfgang; Porley, Ronald D.; Schmidl, Alexandra; Kofler, Werner; Oeggl, Klaus

doi:10.1007/s00334-007-0141-7

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Further analyses of lower intestinal tract samples of the Iceman confirmed that he was omnivorous, with a diet consisting of both wild animal and plant material. Among the plant remains, there were cereals, pollen grains of hop-hornbeam, and fragments of bracken and mosses [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The detection of the Iceman’s stomach content with its pristine yet undigested food mix, provides the unique opportunity to fully reconstruct a Copper Age meal.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Iceman’s Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals

et al. 2018

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SummaryThe history of humankind is marked by the constant adoption of new dietary habits affecting human physiology, metabolism, and even the development of nutrition-related disorders. Despite clear archaeological evidence for the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture in Neolithic Europe [1], very little information exists on the daily dietary habits of our ancestors. By undertaking a complementary -omics approach combined with microscopy, we analyzed the stomach content of the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old European glacier mummy [2, 3]. He seems to have had a remarkably high proportion of fat in his diet, supplemented with fresh or dried wild meat, cereals, and traces of toxic bracken. Our multipronged approach provides unprecedented analytical depth, deciphering the nutritional habit, meal composition, and food-processing methods of this Copper Age individual.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Iceman’s Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals

et al. 2018

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“…This raises the question whether they were specifically recognized and selected as such. N. crispa is quite frequently recorded in archaeological macro-remains (Grosse-Brauckmann 1979), its usage including boat caulking (Arnold 1977), house insulation (Pétrequin et al 1991;Bailly personal communication), sole fabrication (Hochuli 2002), degreasing of pottery (Constantin and Kuijper 2002), food wrapping (Dickson 2000;Dickson et al 2009) or for hygienic needs (Rybniček et al 1998;Vadam 2003). Since archaeological records contain often pure N. crispa samples, the question of a selective collection of N. crispa has been discussed on several occasions (Rösch 1988;Rybniček et al 1998 and references therein;Kuijper 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moss caulking of boats in upper French Rhône and Saône (Eastern France) from the 3rd to the 20th century and the use of Neckera crispa Hedwig

Saatkamp

Guyon

Philippe

2011

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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International audienceThe use of moss material to make boats watertight (caulking) has been a widespread practice in Europe, with records dating back to the Bronze Age. In this article we report the bryophyte assemblages from fifteen boats, which have been conserved as wrecks in the rivers of Upper Rhne and Sane near Lyons, France. The assemblages vary according to their composition, with Neckera crispa Hedwig being one of the dominant species overall. Following ancient technical descriptions we performed experimental collections from bark and rocks in the Jura Mountains. Comparing these to the archaeological records revealed that most of the mosses were probably of bark origin and were collected in base rich areas. Our data is discussed in the context of archaeological caulking in Western Europe. While in much of Europe N. crispa strongly decreased as a caulking material from the 14th century onwards, it remained much used in our study area. This is probably due to the persistence of suitable forests in the Jura mountains

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“…Computed Tomography (CT) analysis of the shoulder wound indicates the arrow perforated the subclavian artery, resulting in almost immediate death (Pernter et al 2007). However, treatment may have been attempted as indicated by the six inedible, but medicinal, mosses associated with the body (Dickson et al 2009).…”

Section: Indications Of the Time Of Deathmentioning

confidence: 99%

The iceman as a burial

et al. 2010

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Since his discovery in 1991 the iceman has been widely seen as meeting a dramatic end -mortally wounded by an arrow shot while attempting to flee through an Alpine pass. A careful study of all the located grave goods, here planned comprehensively for the first time, points strongly towards the scene as one of a ceremonial burial, subsequently dispersed by thawing and gravity. The whole assemblage thus takes on another aspect -not a casual tragedy but a mortuary statement of its day.

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Six mosses from the Tyrolean Iceman’s alimentary tract and their significance for his ethnobotany and the events of his last days

Cited by 19 publications

References 21 publications

The Iceman’s Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals

The Iceman’s Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals

Moss caulking of boats in upper French Rhône and Saône (Eastern France) from the 3rd to the 20th century and the use of Neckera crispa Hedwig

The iceman as a burial

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