Finding History in the Ice Otzi! October 1, 2014 Pg 47: Secrets of the Iceman – Ötzi-

What would Otzi have looked like?

Two German tourists discovered the mummy while hiking through the Ötzal mountains in September It took local authorities several days to extract the body, whose head and torso jutted out of a small, melting glacier, while his lower body remained frozen in ice. A brief turf battle broke out over control of the remains, which now technically belong to Italy, though they have allowed Austrian scientists to conduct nearly all subsequent testing on both the mummy and the archaeological site, which yielded the remains of clothing, including a bearskin cap, and genetic materials including hair and muscle fibers and a finger nail. Using radiocarbon dating, they were able to establish that Ötzi lived between 3350 and 3100 B.C. Thanks to his remarkable level of preservation (attributed to his being buried first under a mound of snow followed by a layer of ice) researchers have been able to not only pinpoint not only when he lived, but also how he died. In 2001, X-rays revealed evidence that a brutal physical struggle preceded Ötzi’s death, including abrasions and bruises and a flint arrowhead lodged in his left shoulder that severed a blood vessel and severely damaged his arm. The final death blow, they now believe was caused by blunt trauma to the back of the head, which shattered his skull. Ötzi the Iceman (Credit: Getty Images) The researchers have even been able to work up a full medical history, discovering that Ötzi had a predisposition for cardiovascular disease, suffered tooth decay, was likely lactose intolerant and had one of the oldest cases of Lyme disease ever recorded. They’ve also examined the contents of his stomach to determine his last meal–some unleavened bread a bit of meat roughly eight hours before his death–as indicated by a lump of partially-digested food in his colon. The bread also provided clues to Ötzi’s job; it contained a type of wheat not native to Europe during his lifetime, indicating he lived and worked in an agricultural community that cultivated the wheat. Thanks to the recovery of a rare copper ax at the burial site, it seems likely that Ötzi and his family were wealthy and leaders in their community. Scientists are even fairly certain where that farming community was. Tests of rock and soil in the region indicate that Ötzi lived his entire life within no more than 40 miles of where his body was discovered

Pg 47: Secrets of the Iceman – Ötzi- (6min, w/quiz) 1)

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Extra Videos National geographic-Onward: A 5,300-Year-Old Mummy with Keys to the Future- (3:32 min) Digging For The Truth - Season 1, Episode 06 - The Iceman Cometh- (43 min)