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 ROME (AP) - New DNA analysis indicates that a 5,000-year-old mummy found frozen in the Italian Alps may have been sterile — a hypothesis that would support the theory that he may have been a social outcast, officials said Friday.
Franco Rollo, an anthropologist and ancient DNA specialist, also determined that the man's genetic makeup belonged to one of the eight basic groups of DNA occurring in Europe, although his particular DNA belonged to a subgroup that has been identified for the first time, officials said.
The South Tyrol Archaeological Museum in Italy's northern Alto Adige region, where the remains are housed, announced the findings of Rollo's research Friday. Rollo's findings also appear in the February issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, the statement said.
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