Recent reports suggest that the oldest known blood cells have been discovered in the body of Stone Age iceman Otzi. The body of this Stone Age man was found from Alpine mountainside, near Italian-Austrian border in 1991, by a group of hikers.

Hikers demonstrated that when they found the body, it was severely wounded and had turned black and blue. After analysis, it was found that the body was preserved in ice from the past 5,300 years.

Further analysis of the man was done by examining his body, clothes and even his DNA was sequenced to acknowledge the age of the man, his health. Nevertheless, it was taken into account what he ate.

While analyzing his wounds, scientists were able to discover red blood cells, which were termed to be the oldest blood cells ever found. The wounds were further analyzed to acknowledge as to how the man died. Scientists used a special technique to trace his blood-cells, which would be able to help enhance forensic methods for detecting evidences at crime sites.

It has been reported that the nanotechnology technique deployed by the scientists to make advancement in the case of Otzi showed much better results than those put forth by forensic methods.

Scientists elaborated that in order to trace the cells, they used an atomic microscope and examined the thin layers of tissue, where the man had been hit by an arrow and where his hand had a cut.

They said, "By probing every tiny point on the tissue they built up a three-dimensional image of the tissue, which blood cells with the same distinctive doughnut-like appearance as those found in healthy people today, and traces of fibrin, a blood clotting protein".

The findings of the research indicated that the man was hit before he died, and since then, Otzi's murder has been dubbed as world's oldest murder puzzle.