Major Discovery In Genealogy -- The "iceman" Descendants

[cdowis]

A team of Austrian researchers have made a discovery that would put those genealogy websites to shame: they have located several living descendants of a 5,300-year-old human mummy.

The prehistoric individual, known as Ötzi the Iceman, was originally found frozen in the Alps back in 1991, according to Steve Nolan of the Daily Mail. The so-called ice mummy suffered from the oldest case of Lyme disease recorded to date, and was also lactose intolerant and predisposed to cardiovascular disease.

Now, forensic scientist Walther Parson and colleagues from the Institute of Legal Medicine at Innsbruck Medical University have identified 19 men who share a specific genetic mutation with Ötzi. These individuals were identified following an analysis of DNA samples from approximately 3,700 blood donors in the state of Tyrol, which is located in the western part of Austria.

“The discovery was made during a broader study into determining the origins of the people who now inhabit the Alpine regions. Along with their blood the donors were asked to provide their place of birth and family history,” said Matthew Day of The Telegraph.

To date, none of the men identified have been informed of their genetic link to Ötzi, Parson told Day. He added his research team is working with colleagues in Italy and Switzerland who are attempting to uncover the same genetic mutation in residents of those two nations.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112973589/otzi-the-iceman-living-relatives-genealogical-descendants-101313/

[Stargazer]

 

A team of Austrian researchers have made a discovery that would put those genealogy websites to shame: they have located several living descendants of a 5,300-year-old human mummy.

The prehistoric individual, known as Ötzi the Iceman, was originally found frozen in the Alps back in 1991, according to Steve Nolan of the Daily Mail. The so-called ice mummy suffered from the oldest case of Lyme disease recorded to date, and was also lactose intolerant and predisposed to cardiovascular disease.

Now, forensic scientist Walther Parson and colleagues from the Institute of Legal Medicine at Innsbruck Medical University have identified 19 men who share a specific genetic mutation with Ötzi. These individuals were identified following an analysis of DNA samples from approximately 3,700 blood donors in the state of Tyrol, which is located in the western part of Austria.

“The discovery was made during a broader study into determining the origins of the people who now inhabit the Alpine regions. Along with their blood the donors were asked to provide their place of birth and family history,” said Matthew Day of The Telegraph.

To date, none of the men identified have been informed of their genetic link to Ötzi, Parson told Day. He added his research team is working with colleagues in Italy and Switzerland who are attempting to uncover the same genetic mutation in residents of those two nations.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112973589/otzi-the-iceman-living-relatives-genealogical-descendants-101313/

 

 

That is so cool!  However, your use of the word "descendents" is not advisable.  These people with the same mutation do not have to be descendants (how do we know that Ötzi ever had children?).  All they need to have is a common ancestor with Ötzi.  But it's still cool!

 

I am reminded of the discovery of human remains in a cave in England, and the subsequent identification of a local schoolteacher who was found to be related to the person leaving the remains -- which were a thousand or more years old or so.

[cdowis]

That is so c

ool!  However, your use of the word "descendents" is not advisable.  These people with the same mutation do not have to be descendants (how do we know that Ötzi ever had children?). 

 

You need to do your homework on the use of DNA to determine familial ties.  Not only can you determine paternity, there is a whole industry on determining ancestry.

[thesometimesaint]

He's so cold he's cool.

[Stargazer]

You need to do your homework on the use of DNA to determine familial ties.  Not only can you determine paternity, there is a whole industry on determining ancestry.

 

No, I don't need any homework, cdowis.  I know it can be used for that.  I also know that mere possession of a common mutation does not establish who had the mutation first, it only establishes common ancestry.

 

But perhaps I didn't read the article completely and missed something?  Because I didn't see anything in there that said that Ötzi was definitely the direct ancestor of those with the mutation.  Maybe it was Ötzi's father who had the mutation first, but the rest of these people living today descended from Ötzi's brother?

 

I will re-read it.

[cdowis]

I re-read it, and you may be correct.   Perhaps, maybe, it is possible....