Scientists have baked a sourdough loaf using yeast harvested from Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,000-year-old mummy discovered frozen in the Alps in 1991. The team now plans to explore using the ancient yeast strains to brew beer.
The yeast was extracted from Ötzi's remains, which have been preserved in ice near the Italy-Austria border. Microbiologist Mohamed Sarhan of Eurac Research's Institute for Mummy Studies said the dough rose within 24 hours, similar to ordinary yeast. 'I've never baked bread before – and it showed. So the result definitely had room for improvement,' he added.
Sarhan noted that the harvested yeasts only thrive in cold conditions, suggesting they entered Ötzi's body shortly after death. Genetic analysis supports this timeline. The team now intends to collaborate with food and brewing experts, including those from German brewer Weihenstephan, to explore beer production.
Ötzi has long fascinated researchers, with his body bearing the oldest known tattoos (61 markings) and evidence of a violent death—he was shot in the back with an arrow, often described as one of the world's oldest cold-case murders.
