Scientists also obtained information about where Ötzi spent his life by analyzing radiogenic strontium and lead isotope ratios. Just as oxygen is deposited in the body when it is consumed, a record of the strontium and lead isotopes can also be found in Ötzi's bones and teeth. Once more, deposition in the teeth is finished by the end of childhood development, while exchange continues in the bones through adulthood. Find strontium on the periodic table and note its position relative to calcium. It should not be surprising that strontium uptake in the body is very similar to the uptake of calcium. Strontium consumed in the diet is constantly exchanging with 'old' strontium in the bones. This provides another way to track migration of a person through adulthood.

In this case, the strontium and lead isotopes found in Otzi's bones and teeth originally came from the rocks and soil that Ötzi's food and drink encountered. The most likely candidates for areas where Ötzi lived have at least four unique types of rock. They have different ages and are located in different areas around the Ötzi mummy site. Since these rocks have different ages, each rock type will have undergone different amounts of radioactive decay. Studying the ratios of a radioactive isotope and the radiogenic isotope it decays into can tell us how old a rock sample is, and can therefore help us identify what kind of rock it is. This means that we can use the ratios of amounts of strontium and lead isotopes in Ötzi's body to give additional evidence about the geological area in which he lived.

If you would like to read a more detailed explanation of this research, open the Adapted Paper. This paper is a simplified version of one of the key original journal articles that were published to tell the scientific story of the isotopic analysis of Ötzi's origins.