Discovery of the Iceman

The amazing discovery of an ice mummy of a copper age man from the Alps continues to provide new surprises. The latest news is that not only was Otzi shot with an arrow; he may have been finished off with blows to the head. The latest forensic techniques have suggested that he may have lost consciousness from blood loss and either hit his head on a rock or someone else hit him with one. Someone also appears to have pulled the arrow shaft from his shoulder. Otzi has arguably been the greatest single archaeological discovery of all time. While his individual story is fascinating, scientists have learned a great deal about life and technology in copper age Europe. His body has provided an insight into life at the time. His various injuries and ailments and the treatments he received - including acupuncture - suggest a difficult existence. However, sourcing the materials he carried including both plant remains and litchis reveals a society where people did move beyond their village and may have had links over a great distance. Isotope analysis of his teeth and of plant remains on his clothes suggests he came from northern Italy but he was a long way from home when he died. Pollen from the hop-hornbeam tree which he had ingested while eating suggested that he died in early summer.

Otzi himself had dangerous levels of arsenic in his hair from working copper. A definite example of one of the mysterious metal smiths is who were transforming material culture. It is his technology which is staggering. Aside from a few tools and weapons his possessions were largely organic. His clothes were designed to trap air as those of a modern mountaineer would but he had a grass cape rather than Gore-tex. His hat was bearskin and bear also was used for the lower part of his boots, deerskin providing the uppers. The boots were stuffed with grass for insulation. He wore a kind of vest; leggings and other clothes made of leather and topped it off with a woven grass cape. In a pouch on his belt were several fungi including one which may have been medicinal and another which was part of the kind of fire-lighting kit which was in use till modern times. He had a rucksack on his back made from a U-shape birch frame and plant fiber netting and carried two birch-bark containers. Besides a copper axe he had a bow, arrows from a variety of trees and a quiver with a flap to keep the arrows dry.

Questionnaire:

• Explain more about the discovery of the ice man?