The practical implication for the reconstructions of Ötzi that have been displayed in museums and documentary films was significant. Johannes Krause noted in press communications that the standard prior reconstructions depicted him with relatively light skin — a characterization shaped, he suggested, by the implicit assumption that a European should look like modern Europeans. The mummy itself, as Krause noted, was dark. The genomic analysis supported that darkness as a biological reality rather than an artifact of preservation.
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## Baldness: The Genetics and the Physical Evidence
The prediction of male-pattern baldness from the genome aligned closely with the physical state of the mummy in a way that the previous reconstruction had not.
The mummy was found with a bearskin hat. When the hat and the surrounding debris were examined, the researchers found dark hair — nine-centimeter-long strands — but only a small amount. The head itself had essentially no attached hair. This had been understood as a taphonomic feature: a natural consequence of the preservation conditions, in which hair might fall off as the skin degraded over millennia.
The 2023 genomic analysis offered an alternative or complementary interpretation: Ötzi was genetically predisposed to male-pattern baldness. The genome carried alleles associated with reduced hair density and male-pattern hair loss. Albert Zink noted that this finding was “a relatively clear result” that “could also explain why almost no hair was found on the mummy.” Previous reconstructions had typically shown Ötzi with a full head of dark hair and sometimes a beard.
The 2023 results do not prove that Ötzi was bald when he died. A predisposition to male-pattern baldness does not guarantee baldness, and the degree of hair loss varies by individual even among those carrying the relevant alleles. The statement from the paper is that the genetic predisposition was present. Given that he was approximately forty-five years old — an age at which male-pattern baldness, if genetically determined, would typically be visible — and that the mummy showed very little scalp hair, the convergence of genetic and physical evidence is suggestive.