Scientists Revive 5,300-Year-Old Yeast from Iceman Mummy to Bake Sourdough

Scientists have isolated living yeast from the intestines of a 5,300-year-old mummy known as Oetzi the Iceman and used it to bake sourdough bread. The mummy was discovered in 1991 by two German hikers in a glacier in the northern Italian region of South Tyrol.

More than 5,300 years ago, before the Egyptian pyramids were built, Oetzi was killed by an arrow while crossing the Alps on the border between present-day Austria and Italy.

An analysis of the mummy's preserved microbiome identified a strain of gut bacteria that is almost non-existent among modern humans. The same study located viable yeast cells that had remained dormant inside the frozen remains. Researchers cultured the yeast and tested its baking properties. The resulting dough rose and produced a loaf described as tasty sourdough bread.

It also demonstrates that certain single-celled organisms can survive millennia when preserved under stable freezing conditions. No other specific individuals or institutions are named in the reports covering the discovery.