A 5,000 year-old mummified Bronze Age man discovered in good condition in the Alps a decade ago had fleas, one of the scientists researching the remains revealed Sunday.
Professor Konrad Spindler was quoted by the Austrian press agency APA as saying two specimens of fleas had been found on the clothes of the iceman, discovered in 1991 protruding from a glacier in the Dolomite mountains of Italy.
Scientists are carrying out research on the cadaver which is preserved at the Bolzano Archeological Museum in northern Italy.
Professor Spindler, director of the Innsbruck University Ancient History Institute, said no fleas had been found on the body itself, which had been washed prior to examination.
He said historical evidence of fleas had hitherto gone no further back than the 5th or 6th centuries BC.
Spindler also suggested there was nothing new about the bronze hatchet found on the man. Previously researchers had surmised that the tool was exceptional for the period.
But the Austrian academic said such tools were frequent around the Alps at the time.
Last month researchers discovered that Iceaman had been shot in the back. X-rays revealed the tip of an arrowhead embedded in his body -- VIENNA (AFP)
