Ötzi the Iceman's Medical Kit
3300 BCE
Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old naturally mummified man discovered in the Alps in 1991, carried what appears to be a sophisticated medical kit. Among his possessions were two species of bracket fungi — one (birch polypore) with antibiotic and antiparasitic properties, and one (tinder fungus) used for fire-starting. His gut contained whipworm parasites, and the birch polypore he carried is a known treatment for them. He was self-medicating 5,300 years ago.