Scientists trace 19 living relatives of Ötzi the Iceman whose 5,300-year-old body was found frozen in the Alps

Austrian scientists tested the DNA of 3,700 male blood donors in Tyrol

They matched a genetic mutation to the mummy found back in 1991



Scientists in Austria have found 19 living descendants of a prehistoric iceman whose 5,300-year-old body was found frozen in the Alps.

Researchers from the Institute of Legal Medicine at Innsbruck Medical University took DNA samples from blood donors in Tyrol in the west of the country.

They managed to match a particular genetic mutation with that of Ötzi, whose body was discovered back in 1991.

Descendants: Scientists have found 19 living relatives of Ötzi the Iceman who was found frozen in the Alps Only a very small number of select individuals from history have had their genetic codes sequenced before, and none with Richard III's noble pedigree. They include Otzi the iceman, pictured, whose mummified 3,000-year-old remains were found in the Italian Alps in 1991

Experts now believe that the same mutation might also be found in the nearby rgions of Engadine in Switzerland and the South Tyrol region of Italy.

According to the BBC, Walther Parson from the university, said: 'We have already found Swiss and Italian partners so that we can pursue our research.'

DNA from around 3,700 blood donors were analysed and the men were also asked to provide information on their ancestry.

None of the donors have been informed that they are distantly related to Ötzi.

Since the body was found frozen under the Alps two decades ago, scientists have conducted experiments to learn how he came to be buried between the Austrian and Italian borders more than 5,300 years ago.

Preserved: Ötzi is kept in a specially built museum in Bolzano, Italy. Visitors view the mummy through portholes into a specially refrigerated room

A hole in his collarbone suggested he was killed by an arrow, then a brain scan concluded he died from a fall.

But research earlier this year, from the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC) in Germany, discovered he suffered brain damage likely caused by a blow to the head.

In 2001, scientists from Austria's Innsbruck University scanned Ötzi using a CAT scan.

They found dark spots at the back of the iceman mummy's cerebrum and concluded he may have died from a head injury.

It was suggested that falling, after being hit by the arrow, or while climbing, may have caused this head injury.

History: The mummy was found in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, hence the name Ötzi, near the Similaun mountain and Hauslabjoch on the border between Austria and Italy

The mummy was found in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, hence the name Ötzi, near the Similaun mountain and Hauslabjoch on the border between Austria and Italy.

Scientists estimate he was aged around 45, was 5ft 5" tall and weighed about 7.9st when he died.

Ötzi is kept in a specially built museum in Bolzano, Italy. Visitors view the mummy through portholes into a specially refrigerated room.

The hunter was frozen with all his possessions including a bow, a quiver of arrows and a copper axe. He was wearing warm clothing including a cloak made of woven grass, a coat and leggings made from goatskin and a bearskin cap with a leather chin strap.