Scientists Made Sourdough Bread With Yeast Found on Ötzi the Iceman’s Mummified Body

Article excerpt

Scientists isolated yeast from Ötzi the Iceman's 5,300-year-old mummified remains, discovered in the Alps in 1991, and used it to bake sourdough bread. The iceman's body, preserved in ice for millennia, harbors a rich microbial ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, and yeasts that researchers have been studying for clues to ancient life and death. The successful fermentation demonstrates that microorganisms can survive extreme preservation conditions and remain viable after thousands of years, offering researchers a rare window into the microbial world of the Copper Age.