More than 10 years after the discovery of the oldest, best-preserved human body, Professor James Dickson of the University of Glasgow, Professor Klaus Oeggl of the University of Innsbruck and Dr Linda Handley of the Scottish Crop Research Institute publish their latest findings and interpretations in the May issue of Scientific American (issued Monday 14 April).

After a decade of labour intensive and painstaking research by the scientists, some hard facts are beginning to replace the more unsubstantiated claims made in the first flurry of excitement at ￖtzi's discovery ﾖ so called because he was discovered in the ￖtztal Alps.

One of the outstanding results stemming from this unique discovery is the understanding of just how well the Iceman knew and used his environment to exploit fully its usefulness to him in terms of dress and equipment. Studying his clothing and gear has offered an insight into ￖtzi himself as well as the community in which he lived

Much has been revealed about how he lived ﾖ his diet, his origins, his state of health, even the contents of his last meals. However, new light has also been shed on the events at the time of his death. It now appears unlikely that he died at the precise spot where he was found. Far more probable is that the corpse floated in icy water to reach that awkward position in which it was discovered by two hikers back in 1991. The presence of small amounts of grave wax, the lack of epidermis, hair and nails and the fact that some of his possessions were scattered several metres away point to this conclusion.

Pollen from the gut shows that ￖtzi did not die in autumn as previously thought but in late spring/early summer. His omnivorous diet included Red Deer and Alpine Ibex, the meat of both having been identified in his gut.

Professor Dickson commented, " Much more careful research still needs to be done to uncover more of ￖzti's secrets. And yet while so many reinterpretations of previous findings further our knowledge of the Iceman, research may never answer all the questions ﾖ why was ￖzti at such a great altitude on the Alps and how exactly did he die. The arrowhead discovered in his back requires further investigation.

Another really exciting development is the attempt to reconstruct the details of ￖtzi's last journeys, which may well have been complex. This may be achieved best by combining the detailed microscopic study of the contents of his gut with analyses of the stable isotopes and trace elements in his tissues and rocks and soils of the region."

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Copies of images are available from the University Press Office on 0141 330 3535 / 3683 or k.cattell@admin.gla.ac.uk Further details can be found at The Iceman

First published: 14 April 2003