‘It was very very good’: Ötzi the Iceman’s body is covered in ancient yeast — and scientists just used it to make a sourdough

Ötzi the Iceman‘s skin and stomach are teeming with yeasts that infiltrated his remains shortly after his murder 5,300 years ago — and some may still be active, a new study reveals.

The yeast strains covering his body are adapted to cold environments, having stemmed from the Alpine glaciers Ötzi once called home. This means the spores have continued colonizing his mummified remains despite being stored in a refrigeration chamber at 21 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 6 degrees Celsius) following his discovery in 1991. Scientists revealed their findings in a study published June 3 in the journal Microbiome.