Scientists
have wondered what
Ötzi's occupation was.
One way of trying to determine what he did is
to study the clothes that he wore. The materials that they were made
from might suggest an occupation.
For
example, if he wore clothing made from domestic animals (cattle,
sheep, etc.), this might indicate that he was a herdsman. If he wore
clothing made from wild animals, this might indicate that he was more
likely a hunter.
Of
course, such an indicator is hardly conclusive. And in Ötzi's case,
the results were contradictory: earlier studies have suggested that he wore both types of animal skin.
However, recent
research using the mass spectrometer provides evidence that the
Iceman might well have been a herdsman.
For the study published in Rapid
Communications in Mass Spectrometry, researchers used hair
samples taken from his coat, leggings and shoes (apparently
just the uppers). They then analyzed the hair samples for proteins (or
more specifically, the "patterns of peptides of fermented
proteins") using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and compared them to
hair samples from various present day animals. According to an article in sciencedaily.com,
"They found that Ötzi's
coat and leggings were made from sheep's fur, while his moccasins were
of cattle origin" [that is, cowhide]. According to the
nationalgeographic.com summary of the study, "His moccasins were
not made of bearskin, as previously believed. Instead they were
ancient cattle skin from the kinds of seasonally migrating animals
cared for by herdsmen in the region of the Alps where he was
discovered."
The
lead researcher, Klaus Hollemeyer of Germany's Saarland University,
said ""We found that the hairs came from sheep and cattle,
just the types of animals that herdsmen care for during their seasonal
migrations." Hollemeyer also told reporters that MALDI-TOF mass
spectrometry "was faster and more reliable than methods based on
DNA analysis."
An
additional study is being undertaken to analyze his cap and the soles
of his shoes.
