Iceman's Last Meal: fat from wild goat, meat from red deer, einkorn, toxic fern

[Celt_??]

Oetzi's last meal was high-fat, high-calorie feast

Scientists say Oetzi filled his stomach with fat from wild goat, meat from red deer, an ancient grain known as einkorn and toxic fern. The fat content was 50%, which is much higher than the 10% in the average modern diet. "His diet was a well-balanced mix of carbohydrates, proteins and also fat," said Dr Maixner. "Quite astonishing also was the high fat content he ingested."

"If you consider the altitude where the Iceman was hunting, you need this kind of energy supply," said Dr Frank Maixner of the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies in Bolzano, Italy. "And the best way to do this is by eating fat; this gives you the necessary energy to survive in this harsh environment."

The study, published in Current Biology, gives a rare glimpse into what was on the menu during the Copper Age. The Iceman's diet has been analysed before, but not in such detail. The latest investigation is based on looking at his stomach contents. Surprisingly, this organ was discovered only recently as it was not in the normal place, due to the way his body was mummified over time. The scientists were able to deduce that the fat came not from diary products, but from the Alpine ibex, a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44807101

[rms2]

I remember riding the train from Moscow to Volgograd (done that a number of times). My wife and I shared a compartment with a woman and her little girl. As is common in such situations in Russia, we shared the food we had brought for the trip. The woman cut me off a slice of what I thought was cheese, but it turned out to be salo, which is the Russian version of fatback. It was just pure greasy pork fat. I nearly choked on it, but I ate it with a smile so as not to offend the lady, who was very generous. My wife, who was familiar with salo, ate it with pleasure.

Nasty!