A recent paleogenomic study has revealed incredible genetic continuity and subtle social interactions among prehistoric populations in the Eastern Italian Alps that once sheltered Ötzi the Iceman. Published in Nature Communications, the study analyzed the genomes of 47 individuals who lived between 6400 and 1300 BCE, from the Mesolithic to the Middle Bronze Age.
Led by Valentina Coia, the study examined ancient DNA to uncover how populations in the high-altitude Alps evolved across millennia. Among the individuals studied was Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old mummy found frozen in the Alps in 1991. Ötzi’s genome, rich in Anatolian farmer ancestry, has long puzzled researchers due to its distinctiveness. This latest research confirms that while Ötzi shared a great deal genetically with neighboring Copper Age people, his origins differed in several important ways.
Most of the individuals in the study had approximately 80–90% Anatolian farmer ancestry, revealing strong continuity with early Neolithic populations in southern Europe. Their DNA remained little altered for more than 2,000 years, indicating that the area served as a genetic refuge, holding on to its original lineage even in the face of broader prehistoric Europe-wide changes. But the paternal and maternal lines of Ötzi were distinctive. His Y-chromosome haplogroup (G2a-Z6208) and his mitochondrial DNA have not been discovered in any other ancient or modern individuals, making him a genetic outlier.
Low Y-chromosome marker diversity but high mitochondrial DNA diversity in Alpine men indicates a patrilocal society, with females moving into male-dominated communities. In the kind of social structure Coia and her team explained in Nature Communications, this would have resulted in the stabilization of male lineages over generations, while maternal lines had more external connections.
Apart from their ancestry, the researchers used whole genomes to predict physical characteristics. As with Ötzi, the majority likely had dark hair and brown eyes. They also shared his lactose intolerance—none of them carried genes for digesting milk, suggesting milk had not become a dietary staple yet.
Though continuity of genes was the norm, the study did detect isolated instances of foreign ancestry. A small girl (LAS01) from around 2400 BCE had Steppe-affiliated ancestry, most likely due to limited contact with arriving Bronze Age groups. Another individual, SIU01, who lived around 1600 BCE, had both Steppe genes and the haplogroup R1b*, typically found in the Bell Beaker culture. Conversely, DNA from individuals such as NOG302 and ROM402 indicated gene flow from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus.
Outside of these occasional intrusions, however, the genetic record shows a picture of stability throughout time. As the authors concluded, the Eastern Italian Alps were not so much a crossroads as a genetic stronghold, obdurate to great demographic shifts, yet permeable to limited cultural and genetic exchange.
Though the mystery of Ötzi’s exact cultural affiliation remains unresolved, this study offers a clearer understanding of the world he lived in—one shaped by deep-rooted traditions, tight social bonds, and a landscape both isolating and connective.
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