In 1996, a 5,000 year-old crime scene was discovered in the Italian Alps. The mummy of a 46 year-old man who had been shot with arrows emerged from a melting glacier. Nicknamed Oetzi, he was found in remarkable condition, fully clothed and tattooed, with weapons and copper tools. Since that time, scientists have been working to decode his DNA. The genetic material was extractd from a pelvic bone fragment.
     The DNA mapping is now completed and analysis will begin to determine how the ancient DNA varies from modern samples. This will allow researchers to gather information on genetic diseases as well as other ailments found in the iceman. It may even allow Oetzi to be linked to any living descendents he may have.
     The work was completed in an unusually shor amount of time. "It was a sensationally fast result," Albert Zink, head of Eurac's Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, told the German Press Agency. The process had been completed in two to three months when in the past "years" were required for such genome studies, Zink said.
     Oetzi's remains are preserved at the South Tyrol Archaeology Museum in Bolzano (Italy).

Sources: AlphaGalileo, News24 (27 July 2010)