WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Did Our Ancestors Really Eat?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and this is another classic

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff episode. We as a culture are fascinated by

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<v Speaker 1>last meals. If you choose it, how do you choose

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't, what does it say about your habits?

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<v Speaker 1>This episode concerns the last meal of the man that

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<v Speaker 1>would become the oldest natural mummy we've ever found, Otsi

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<v Speaker 1>the Iceman. Hey, brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here. You may

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<v Speaker 1>have heard of folks emulating the diets of our ancient

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<v Speaker 1>pre agricultural human ancestors for health and welfare, you know, paleo.

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<v Speaker 1>But thanks to recent research, we now have an actual

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<v Speaker 1>ancient menu of sorts to follow the last meal of

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<v Speaker 1>Otsy a k a. The Iceman, a five thousand, three

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<v Speaker 1>hundred year old man whose frozen body was found by

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<v Speaker 1>German tourists in the Italian Alps back in. An international

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<v Speaker 1>group of researchers has conducted the first in depth study

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<v Speaker 1>of the contents of Otsi's stomach and small and large intestines,

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<v Speaker 1>as detailed in an article published in a July issue

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<v Speaker 1>of the journal Current Biology. They used a combination of

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<v Speaker 1>multi omics studies involving different biomolecules such as ancient DNA, proteins, metabolites,

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<v Speaker 1>and lipids, plus microscopic examination to reconstruct the exact composition

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<v Speaker 1>of Otsi's food intake. Just before his apparent violent death

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<v Speaker 1>from massive bleeding caused by an arrow wound in his shoulder,

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<v Speaker 1>Otzi's stomach still contained a small amount of food that

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<v Speaker 1>he was in the process of digesting, including animal muscle,

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<v Speaker 1>fibers and plant fragments, as well as metabolic compounds that

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<v Speaker 1>indicated the presence of dairy products and whole grain cereals.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition to the chemical analysis, the researchers also analyzed

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<v Speaker 1>DNA they found in the food and studied bacteria in

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<v Speaker 1>Otsi's gastro intestinal tract. From that, they determined that Otsi's

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<v Speaker 1>last meal probably consisted of ibex and red deer meat

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<v Speaker 1>that he ate either fresh or dried, and fat from

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<v Speaker 1>grazing animals or dairy products supplemented with eincre a wild

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<v Speaker 1>species of wheat. Otsi's diet was high in fat, with

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<v Speaker 1>its residues making up between twenty seven and forty of

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<v Speaker 1>his stomach's contents. The researchers think that that wasn't by accident.

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<v Speaker 1>In the cold, high altitude environment in which Otsi lived,

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<v Speaker 1>it was a challenge to avoid starvation and energy loss.

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<v Speaker 1>The researchers wrote, the ice man seemed to have been

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<v Speaker 1>fully aware that fat displays an excellent energy source. Puzzlingly,

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<v Speaker 1>Otsi's stomach also contained particles of toxic bracken fern and mosses,

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<v Speaker 1>which may have come from plant material to wrap his meat.

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<v Speaker 1>Another possibility is that Otsi took the toxic fern as

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<v Speaker 1>a medicine for intestinal problems related to parasites found in

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<v Speaker 1>his gut. But we should mention that Otsy's diet may

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<v Speaker 1>not be demonstrative of the diets of his era. Ancient

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<v Speaker 1>hunter gatherers diets varied greatly according to the region where

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<v Speaker 1>they lived. While Otsi eight meat and grains, ancient people

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<v Speaker 1>in what is now Botswana got seventy of their calories

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<v Speaker 1>from carbohydrates and sugars in melons and starchy roots, for example.

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<v Speaker 1>Ancient diets were necessarily local. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article O't see the iceman ate a high fat

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<v Speaker 1>last meal on how stuff works dot Com, written by

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<v Speaker 1>Patrick J. Tiger. Brain stuffs production of i heart Radio

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<v Speaker 1>in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Klang and Ramsay Young. Four more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from my heart Radio. Visit the i heart radio app,

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