The omnivorous Tyrolean Iceman: colon contents (meat, cereals, pollen, moss and whipworm) and stable isotope analyses

The contents of the colon of the Tyrolean Iceman who lived Ga. 5300 years a go include muscle fibres, cereal remains, a diversity of pollen, and most n otably that of the hop hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia) retaining cellular co ntents, as well as a moss leaf (Neckera complanata) and eggs of the parasit ic whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). Based almost solely on stable isotope an alyses and ignoring the work on the colon contents, two recently published papers on the Iceman's diet draw ill-founded conclusions about vegetarianis m and even veganism. Neither the pollen nor the moss is likely to have been deliberately consumed as food by the Iceman. All the available evidence co ncerning the Iceman's broad-based diet is reviewed and the significance of the colon contents for matters other than assessment of food intake is outl ined.