How did Ötzi survive?
Ötzi died in a snow-free gully near the pass. Exposed on the surface, he freeze-dried, which led to the exceptional preservation of his body. A short time later, a glacier covered the area, and buried the body and the artifacts for more than five millennia, like in a time capsule.
What was Ötzi the Iceman life like?
Otzi Profile Ötzi was likely like a farmer of a shepherd. Some speculate he was a shaman based on presence of tattoos on his body. After doing CT scans on the body and performing microscopic examinations of a piece of bone, scientists determined that Ötzi was between 40 to 50 years old.
Where did Ötzi live before he died?
the European AlpsA reconstruction of Ötzi the Iceman, who lived and died in the European Alps some 5,200 years ago. His naturally mummified remains were discovered by German hikers on September 19, 1991.
When did Ötzi live and how do we know?
Ötzi, also called the Iceman, is the natural mummy of a man who lived some time between 3350 and 3105 BC, discovered in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps (hence the nickname "Ötzi") on the border between Austria and Italy.
Was Ötzi healthy?
The cause of his death is believed to have been an arrow in the back, but researchers have shown that Ötzi suffered from myriad health problems, including cavities, hardened arteries and possibly Lyme disease.
How was Ötzi murdered?
High in a remote area of the Oetztaler Alps in northern Italy, 5,300 years ago, Oetzi the Iceman was shot in the back with an arrow. It hit a main artery and he probably bled to death within minutes. His body was preserved in the ice, making him one of the oldest and best-preserved mummies on Earth.
What did Ötzi eat before he died?
Fresh or dried game meat from ibex and red deer, einkorn wheat and traces of toxic bracken: these were the ingredients of the Iceman's last meal.
What injuries did Ötzi have?
“Ötzi had only shortly survived the arrow wound and the blow on the back,” Nerlich summarizes. “At least a couple of days before his death, however, he sustained a severe cut wound on his right hand. Over several days, then, Ötzi suffered at least two injuring events – which could point towards two separate attacks.”
What food did Ötzi eat?
A mere 2 hours before his grisly murder about 5,300 years ago, Ötzi the iceman chowed down on some mouthwatering morsels: wild meat from ibex and red deer, cereals from einkorn wheat and — oddly enough — poisonous fern, a new study finds.
What was Ötzi carrying when he died?
His belongings, scattered around the body, included a bow and quiver with arrows, a complete copper-bladed axe, a flint dagger with a wicker sheath, two birch wood vessels clad with maple leaves, remnants of a backpack, a leather pouch with small objects, fur and leather garments, shoes, and other minor artifacts.
What was interesting about Ötzi's teeth?
They found that the ancient farmer had several cavities, likely caused by his carbohydrate-rich diet. Ötzi also showed severe wear of his tooth enamel and severe gum disease. Hard minerals in milled grains abraded the surface of his teeth and gums, exposing the bone below and making the roots loose.
How many tattoos did Ötzi?
61 tattoosThe debate about the world's oldest tattoos is over—they belong to Ötzi, the European Tyrolean Iceman who died and was buried beneath an Alpine glacier along the Austrian–Italian border around 3250 B.C. Ötzi had 61 tattoos across his body, including his left wrist, lower legs, lower back and torso.
Did Ötzi the Iceman have a family?
No next-of-kin was around to claim the frozen 5,300-year-old body of Ötzi the Iceman when it was found in the Italian Alps in 1991, but researchers now report that there are at least 19 genetic relatives of Ötzi living in Austria's Tyrol region.
What did Ötzi wear when he was alive?
Mitochondrial DNA from nine samples showed that Ötzi's getup consisted of hides from five different species: goat leather leggings, a sheep hide loincloth, a roe deer quiver, cattle hide shoelaces, a brown bear fur hat, and a heavy coat made of goat and sheep hides haphazardly stitched together.
What injuries did Ötzi have?
“Ötzi had only shortly survived the arrow wound and the blow on the back,” Nerlich summarizes. “At least a couple of days before his death, however, he sustained a severe cut wound on his right hand. Over several days, then, Ötzi suffered at least two injuring events – which could point towards two separate attacks.”
What is so special about Ötzi?
Ötzi, the Iceman, is a man of superlatives. Ötzi is the world's oldest wet mummy, and the clothes he wore and equipment he carried are unique. The mummy is invaluable for archaeology and archaeotechnology as well as for medical science, genetics, biology and many other disciplines.
Where was Ice Man found?
Ötzi, also called Iceman, also spelled Ice Man, an ancient mummified human body that was found by a German tourist, Helmut Simon, on the Similaun Glacier in the Tirolean Ötztal Alps, on the Italian-Austrian border, on September 19, 1991.
How did Iceman die?
Initially it was thought that he had fallen victim to exposure or exhaustion while crossing the Alps and died of freezing, but X-ray examination in 2001 showed that an arrowhead was lodged in the Iceman’s left shoulder, suggesting that he had likely bled to death after being shot. The small rocky hollow in which he lay down to die was soon covered (and protected) by glacial ice that happened to be melting 5,300 years later when his body was discovered by modern humans. His nickname, Ötzi, stems from the Ötztal Alps, where he was found.
What did the Iceman wear?
The Iceman’s basic piece of clothing was an unlined fur robe stitched together from pieces of ibex, chamois, and deer skin. A woven grass cape and a furry cap provided additional protection from the cold , and he wore shoes made of leather and stuffed with grass. The Iceman was equipped with a small copper-bladed ax and a flint dagger, both with wooden handles; 14 arrows made of viburnum and dogwood, two of which had flint points and feathers; a fur arrow quiver and a bow made of yew; a grass net that may have served as a sack; a leather pouch; and a U-shaped wooden frame that apparently served as a backpack to carry this gear. His scant food supply consisted of a sloeberry, mushrooms, and a few gnawed ibex bones.
How tall was the man in the 3300s?
Radiocarbon-dated to 3300 bce, the body is that of a man aged 25 to 35 who had been about 1.6 metres (5 feet 2 inches) tall and had weighed about 50 kg (110 pounds).
Did Iceman have a tattoo?
His few remaining scalp hairs provide the earliest archaeological evidence of haircutting, and short blue lines on his skin (lower spine, left leg, and right ankle) have been variously interpreted as the earliest known tattoos or as scars remaining from a Neolithic therapeutic procedure.
Where was Otzi the Iceman encased?
At the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Otzi was encased within a specially made chamber, which is kept dark and refrigerated to help preserve Otzi's body.
Who is Otzi the Iceman?
Otzi the Iceman. Jennifer Rosenberg is a historian and writer who specializes in 20th-century history. On September 19, 1991, two German tourists were hiking in the Otzal Alps near the Italian-Austrian border when they discovered Europe's oldest known mummy sticking out of the ice.
What happened to Otzi?
A CT scan in 2005 discovered that the arrowhead had severed one of the Otzi's arteries, most likely causing his death. A large wound on Otzi's hand was another indicator that Otzi had been in close combat with someone shortly before his death.
How long did Otzi stay in the desert?
To remember the place where Otzi had remained for 5,300 years, a stone marker was placed at the discovery site.
Why did the first team of archaeologists stay at the Otzi site?
The first team stayed only three days, October 3 to 5, 1991, because the winter weather was too harsh to work in.
How long did Otzi live?
Otzi, as the iceman is now known, had been naturally mummified by the ice and kept in amazing condition for approximately 5,300 years. Research on Otzi's preserved body and the various artifacts found with it continues to reveal much about the life of Copper Age Europeans.
How tall was Otzi?
Otzi was a man who lived sometime between 3350 and 3100 BCE in what is called the Chalcolithic or Copper Age. He stood approximately five feet and three inches high and at the end of his life suffered from arthritis, gallstones, and whipworm. He died at about the age of 46.
What did the Iceman do before he died?
Ötzi the iceman, a spectacularly preserved mummy of a man who was murdered about 5,300 years ago, may have consumed medicinal herbs and had a treatment similar to acupuncture prior to his death, a new study reveals.
What diseases did Iceman have?
For instance, Ötzi was a heart attack waiting to happen, with narrowed arteries, and he had arthritic knees and rotten teeth, a likely case of Lyme disease , and signs of stomach ulcers, Live Science previously reported.
How many tattoos does Iceman have?
Most of the tattoos are located [on] the legs and the lower back," Zink said. Ötzi the iceman had 61 tattoos that covered his body, most of which were simple lines.
Why did Iceman get chest tattoos?
chest tattoos may have been used to soothe belly discomfort; he had intestinal parasites and a Helicobacter pylori infection. And some of the inked spots corresponded to traditional acupuncture "pressure points," suggesting to some researchers that the iceman underwent a form of acupuncture, Zink said. (Most scientists believe acupuncture first arose in China, and the first written description of it derives from 2,200 years ago, but it could have arisen earlier in some other location, like Europe, Zink said.)
Where is Albert Zink?
This definitely requires a certain knowledge of the human anatomy as well as how diseases arise and develop," study author Albert Zink, head of the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies in Bolzano, Italy, told Live Science in an email.
What is the secret about Otzi the Iceman?
Mummy Melodrama: Top 9 Secrets About Otzi the Iceman. Genetic material from the Iceman mummy suggests this Neolithic man has no modern-day relatives on his mom's side of the family. (Image credit: Franco Rollo, University of Camerino.)
How old is the iceman?
In 1991, a pair of hikers in the Ötztal Alps along the Austrian-Italian border stumbled over the frozen, mummified body of an ancient man. The 5,300-year-old mummy, affectionately known as Ötzi, was amazingly well preserved. Since then, scientists have pieced together an incredibly detailed picture of the iceman who lived before, from where he lived to what he ate before dying in the ice.
What did the Iceman wear in the Stone Age?
During the Stone Age, animal skins were all the rage. Most of Ötzi's clothing was badly disintegrated, but researchers did manage to salvage parts of his sheep- and cow-leather shoes, goatskin leggings, bear fur cap, and animal skin loincloth. The iceman also carried a grass mat or cape with him, either to sleep on or shield him from the rain. The ancient pastoralist also sported several tattoos.
Where did tzi live?
By analyzing the contents of his stomach, as well as the isotopes (atoms of the same elements with different weights) in Ötzi's body, and the type of equipment he carried scientists concluded that he didn't live in the Alps per se, but spent most of his life in Isack Valley or the lower Puster Valley, in the northernmost part of what is now Italy. However, he probably spent the last 10 years of his life in an area south and west of his previous home, not far from where he died.
What did the Neolithic herdsman suffer from?
And before dying, Ötzi had taken a medicinal herb called hop hornbeam, suggesting that he may have been suffering from nausea or stomach upset.
How old is the blood cell in Iceman?
A 5,300-year-old blood cell found in the tissue of Ötzi the Iceman. (Image credit: Albert Zink)
What animals did tzi herde?
Based on animal hair from his clothing, Ötzi herded sheep, cows and goats. The skin from his clothing came from domesticated animals, according to a 2008 study in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. That would make Ötzi a member of the more progressive culture at the time, unlike the more primitive hunter-culture that existed around the same time.
What is the genetic predisposition of tzi the Iceman?
Ötzi the Iceman, a well-preserved mummy discovered in the Alps, may have had a genetic predisposition to heart disease, new research suggests.
How many relatives did Iceman have?
As part of that research, they found that the iceman had 19 living relatives in Europe.
What is the Iceman's genetic predisposition to heart disease?
Ötzi the Iceman, a well-preserved mummy discovered in the alps in 1991, showed evidence of calcium buildup in his arteries . Now, new research shows he had a genetic predisposition to heart disease.
Where is the iceman's mummy?
Otzi was discovered in 1991, when two hikers stumbled upon the well-preserved mummy in the Ötztal Alps, near the border between Austria and Italy. Since then, every detail of the iceman has been scrutinized, from his last meal and moments ( Ötzi was bashed on the head before being pierced by the deadly arrow blow), to where he grew up, to his fashion sense. [ Top 9 Secrets About Ötzi the Iceman]
What disease did tzi have?
Past research has revealed that Ötzi likely suffered from joint pain, Lyme disease and tooth decay, and computed tomography (CT) scanning revealed calcium buildups, a sign of atherosclerosis, in his arteries.
Where did the Copper Age live?
Few Copper Age artefacts have been found in South Tyrol, where Ötzi probably lived. We therefore know very little about the life of Copper Age people. And since Ötzi had no pottery on him, it is very difficult to assign him to one of the culture groups of the period.
Did they find the Copper Age settlement in South Tyrol?
A sloe, a wild plum packed with vitamins, was found at the excavation site. Unfortunately, no Copper Age settlement has been found in South Tyrol, which would provide us with more details about the everyday life of the people.
Overview
Ötzi, also called the Iceman, is the natural mummy of a man who lived some time between 3350 and 3105 BC, discovered in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps (hence the nickname "Ötzi") on the border between Austria and Italy.
Ötzi is believed to have been murdered, due to the discovery of an arrowhead embedded in his left shoulder and various other wounds. The nature of his life …
Discovery
Ötzi was found on 19 September 1991 by two German tourists, at an elevation of 3,210 m (10,530 ft) on the east ridge of the Fineilspitze in the Ötztal Alps on the Austrian–Italian border, near Similaun mountain and the Tisenjoch pass. When the tourists, Helmut and Erika Simon, first saw the body, they both believed that they had happened upon a recently deceased mountaineer. The next day, a mo…
Scientific analyses
The corpse has been extensively examined, measured, X-rayed, and dated. Tissues and intestinal contents have been examined microscopically, as have the items found with the body. In August 2004, frozen bodies of three Austro-Hungarian soldiers killed during the Battle of San Matteo (1918) were found on the mountain Punta San Matteo in Trentino. One body was sent to a museum i…
Cause of death
The cause of death remained uncertain until 10 years after the discovery of the body. It was initially believed that Ötzi died from exposure during a winter storm. Later it was speculated that Ötzi might have been a victim of a ritual sacrifice, perhaps for being a chieftain. This explanation was inspired by theories previously advanced for the first millennium BC bodies recovered from peat bogs such …
Legal dispute
Italian law entitled the Simons to a finders' fee from the South Tyrolean provincial government of 25% of the value of Ötzi. In 1994 the authorities offered a "symbolic" reward of Lire 10 million (€5,200), which the Simons declined. In 2003, the Simons filed a lawsuit which asked a court in Bolzano to recognize their role in Ötzi's discovery and declare them his "official discoverers". The court decided in the Simons' favor in November 2003, and at the end of December that year the …
"Ötzi's curse"
Influenced by the "Curse of the pharaohs" and the media theme of cursed mummies, claims have been made that Ötzi is cursed. The allegation revolves around the deaths of several people connected to the discovery, recovery and subsequent examination of Ötzi. It is alleged that they have died under mysterious circumstances. These people include co-discoverer Helmut Simon and Konrad Spindler, the first examiner of the mummy in Austria in 1991. To date, the deaths of …
See also
• Children of Llullaillaco
• Gebelein predynastic mummies
• Iceman – a 2017 fictional film about the life of Ötzi
• List of human evolution fossils
Further reading
• Dickson, James Holms (28 June 2005), Plants and the Iceman: Ötzi's last journey, Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, retrieved 17 March 2007.
• Fowler, Brenda (November 2002), The Iceman's last meal, NOVA Online, PBS, retrieved 17 March 2007.