1. The oldest human mummy ever to be discovered!
Iceman
The oldest human mummy ever to be discovered!

2. Discovery of Iceman
On Thursday 19th September 1991, two vacationing German hikers, Erika and Helmut Simon were hiking in the Otzal Alps on the Austrian/Italian border when they made a gruesome discovery. They decided to take a shortcut and walked off the track and discovered the remains of what was to become known as Otzi the Iceman. All that was visible was the head, shoulders and part of his back. The remainder of his body was hidden below the melted water and ice.
After taking a photo (the last photo they had on their film) they called the police. They thought that the body was a victim of a recent accident or crime.
When the police were notified they presumed the body to be that of a normal ‘glacier corpse.’

3. Source 10.1:
First photo taken of
Iceman by Helmut
Simon when he
was first discovered.
Source 10.2:
“… we suddenly saw something brown sticking out of the ice. Our first thought was that it was rubbish, perhaps a doll, because by now there is plenty of litter even in the high mountains. As we came closer, Erika said: “But it’s a man!”
K. Spindler, The Man in the Ice, pp

4. What thoughts or feelings come to mind when looking at these images of Iceman?

5. The removal of Iceman’s body
The police attempted to free the body from the ice with a pneumatic chisel, which operates using compressed air. The forensic examiner, De Rainer Henn, was then contacted and a criminal investigation was begun.
Poor weather meant that they couldn’t remove the body until the following Monday. Because they thought the body was only recent, there were no archaeologists present at the site. In fact a group of hikers tried to hack out the body with the use of ice picks and ski poles, and in the process damaged the body.
Items lying around were collected, and after many attempts to pull out the stick or stave, stuck fast in the ice, it was broken in half and only the top half retrieved.
Later, when the real importance of the find was realised and the site was examined by archaeologists, many other items of significance were found.

6. How was Iceman preserved?
Iceman died in a rocky hollow high in the Oztal Alps. His body was protected in this rocky hollow when a glacier formed above it.
Otzi is known as a wet mummy. This means that he was preserved by the freezing conditions of water in the form of ice.
Iceman

7. Initial investigations of his body
The body was taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Innsbruck to be examined. Here scientists discovered that the body was not of someone who had died recently, but it was actually thousands of years old. He was given the name Otzi (after the name of the place where he was found).
Professor Konrad Spindler of the Unniversity Institute for Pre-and Proto History at Innsbruck University was called in to take charge, On 14 October, all criminal investigation was suspended and it was decided that the body was to be preserved in perpetuity in a special refrigerated chamber.

8. Initial investigations of his body
Because Otzi is a wet mummy, this also means that if Otzi dries out, his body will decay (start to break down). He is stored in a special cold cell in South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. The temperature is kept at -6°C and the humidity has to be kept at 98 per cent. The mummy is regularly sprayed with water to keep it from drying out. Next to Otzi’s cell is a backup cell with its own electricity supply just in case the power goes out.

9. How old is Iceman?
The main clue for dating the body was the axe handle with the metal blade that was found near Iceman’s body.
What type of dating method is this: relative or absolute? It is also known as typology.
The shape of the metal axe head with flanged edges placed Iceman in the Early Bronze Age. However, chemical analysis proved that the weapon was made from Copper.
Therefore Iceman was from the Copper Age. (c – 2200 BC).
Bone and tissue was taken from Iceman’s hip for radiocarbon dating along with grass samples found on the body.
These were tested in different laboratories in Europe and the average result showed that Iceman lived approx years ago, revealing a date from 3360BC to 3050BC. This period is called the Neolithic or New Stone Age.

10. Iceman’s appearance
Scientist and artist John Gurche, made a life-like reconstruction of Iceman.
Iceman was 1.58metres tall, is believed to have somewhere between the ages of 25 and 40. His organs were well preserved and he is still wearing his right boot.
The reconstruct head was made of nine layers of urethane plastic, each separately painted to produce a life-like look…
Mr Gurche used nearly 700 computer CAT scans and three dimensional images to guide him through the 750 hours it took to reconstruct Iceman.
Thanks to hair found at the site, he knew he had slightly wavy, dark-brown hair.
His teeth were worn down considerably at the front. Mr Gurche said that this suggested he used his teeth for other functions, such as running skins through them to process them.
Iceman had tattoos found behind his knee and on his ankle and lower back, at first thought to be burn marks.

11. Who was Iceman? Spindler’s theory
After much exhaustive research, Spindler has concluded that Iceman probably came from a Neolithic settlement in the Val Venosta, an alpine valley in Northern Italy approximately 20 kilometres from the site.
People in the Neolithic Age generally lived in small villages and hunted, raised animals and farmed. In the Val Venosta, flint blades, stone tools, some daggers and interesting picture stones have been found.
Spindler concludes that Iceman was probably a shepherd.
(Source 10.6)
“The Iceman had with him everything that such an activity would require:
He had a strong physique… his equipment would have enabled him to survive for several months away from regular supplies. His hunting weapons would have enabled him to keep himself supplied with additional meat. At the same time his weapons… enabled him to defend himself and his animals against adversaries either animal or human predators. His clothing was perfectly suited to the climatic conditions of the high mountains…Finally, the site of his death marks the route by which the herds would cross the main ridge of the Alps.”

12. Plant and animal remains as evidence
Plant remains
Iceman used a variety of plant materials. Types of wood included yew, lime, ash, hazel, larch, cornel tree, Norway maple, blackthorn and grasses. Some only grew in the valleys. Others grew high up in the mountains. He must have picked the maple leaves some time between September and October.
Caught up in Iceman’s clothing were samples of barley and einkorn wheat – suggesting that he had been in contact with a farming community. Shepherds herding their flocks to higher pastures in summer would generally return by harvest time in late summer and early autumn.
Animal remains
Evidence from Iceman’s clothing and equipment suggest that he was in contact with both wild and domesticated animals, including the ibex, red deer, goats, sheep and cattle. Pollen analysis of the southern valleys indicates that grasslands were used for grazing animals.

13. How did Iceman die? Spindler’s theory
At first Spindler thought that Iceman might have been overcome by a storm.
X-rays of his body revealed that some ribs had been broken shortly before his death; the position in which the body was lying is the most comfortable for this condition. Spindler suggests these injuries indicate that some violent conflict had taken place and forced him to flee to the mountains with his inadequate equipment (incomplete arrows) and insufficient food.
Basing his opinion on archaeological finds of Neolithic villages in which the people have been massacred, Splinder suggests that Iceman’s village was attacked and that he escaped, only to die in the Alps.

14. How did Iceman die?
Spindler’s theory (Unlocking The Past pages 65 – 66)
Spindler argues that the Iceman probably spent the summer high up in the Alps for the grazing season. He had probably returned the flocks safely to the village before the harvesting. He was then involved in some violent incident and forced to flee the village. Some of his equipment was lost and his ribs were fractured. Spindler notes that many Neolithic villages were built for defence, indicating that there were some dangers to such settlements. This time of harvest and returned flocks was an ideal time for plundering such a village. Food stocks were at a premium to last a long and bitter winter.
Was his village attacked?
Was the Iceman’s village attacked for its food stocks? Not so far away at Talheim in south-western Germany. A Neolithic grave was found which contained 34 skeletons. The people had been brutally murdered and were a mixture of males, females and children. It was probably most of the village. Did the same thing happen to the Iceman’s village? Was the village plundered or simply taken over?
And what of the Iceman? Did he flee, leaving his family behind? Perhaps his injuries affected him so much that he arrived at the isolated spot exhausted and rested against the protection of the rocky shelf. The freezing conditions stopped him going further.

15. Further research into Iceman’s death
1998
Re-examination of the evidence revealed new information that cast doubt on Spindler’s conclusions.
1. Examination of Iceman’s intestines revealed the presence of hop hornbeam pollen. The excellent preservation of this pollen meant that Iceman had ingested it just before he died when the plant was newly flowering. This plant flowers between March and June indicating that Iceman died in spring.
2. New examination of Iceman’s ribs revealed that they were not fractured before death as previously thought, but bent out of shape after he died. (probably from the pressure of the ice)

16. Further research into Iceman’s death
2000
Dr Klaus Oeggl, botanist from Innsbruck Unniversity, analysed the stomach contents of the Iceman. His last meal was bread made from einkorn wheat, some greens and meat.
Using an electron microscope, Oeggl found particles of charcoal attached to the wheat bran. Pollen analysis suggested that he had died in early summer.
Biochemicals found in Iceman’s teeth and bones indicated that he had grown up in a village in the Italian Southern Alps. It was found that his movements had been restricted to within sixty kilometres south-west of where his body had been found.

17. Further research into Iceman’s death
2001
A CAT scan was undertaken and this time a flint arrowhead was found embedded in the Iceman’s shoulder. This detail had been overlooked in Now it seemed that Iceman had been shot in the back with an arrow which he subsequently pulled out. But, weakened from blood loss, he had the strength only to reach the top of the mountain before dying.

18. Further research into Iceman’s death
2002
Professor P. Vanezis from the University of Glasgow, Department of Forensic Medicine and Science, was called in to examine the body and he called for an autopsy. This was undertaken in March 2002, and Dr E. Vigil from the South Tyrol Museum found deep defensive cuts to the Iceman’s right hand.
In November of that year Professor A. Pedrotti from Trento University examined the arrowhead and stated that the type of arrowhead indicated it had come from the Southern Alpine region and not from the Northern Alps where the body had been found. She concluded that the arrow had probably been fired by his own people.

19. Further research into Iceman’s death
2003
DNA analysis provided further clues. Blood samples were taken from Iceman’s knife, axe and jacket and indicated that the blood was from several different people.
Australian Dr Loy, Director of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Bioscience, argued that in the last day of his life, the Iceman was involved in hand-to-hand fighting for his life against several individuals shortly before his death.
Analysis of blood samples taken from the arrowhead alongside Iceman’s body showed that it belonged to two people. Loy argued that Iceman had fired his arrow into two of his enemies, pulling the precious weapon out of their bodies each time.

20. Further research into Iceman’s death
2007
Cause of death ‘solved’
Using the state-of-the-art CT scan or multislice computed tomography, an Italian-Swiss team of scientist have produced some new evidence which clarifies Iceman’s cause of death:
The arrow head hit the artery under the clavicle – this meant that he would have died within a short time of the lesion. A large bruise was also visible in the surrounding tissue.

21. Further research into Iceman’s death
2009
Researchers from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich published their findings that concluded that
Iceman was attacked at least twice during his final days of life.
The wounds on his hands were older.
A few days later, he sustained new wounds on his back.
One of these wounds came from the arrow that pierced his back of his left shoulder and the other was a bruising from a blunt object.

22. Iceman’s equipment Iceman was found with many pieces of equipment.
 2 birch bark containers
arrows – finished and unfinished
net 
quiver

23. Iceman’s equipment retoucher dagger and scabbard stone axe
retoucher
dagger and
scabbard
stone axe
back pannier
bow
sloe- berry

24. Activity: Equipment catalogue
Go to to help you complete the last two columns.
www.
Artefact
Brief Description
Possible Uses
Information Revealed
bow/stave
This was 182cm long and was made of yew wood. It was broken when archaeologists removed it from the ice. It appears to have been unfinished as there is no sign of a bow-string. On the other hand, evidence has been found that he shot arrows, so he must have had a working bow of some kind.
axe
This had a yew-wood handle and a copper blade. It was approximately 60cm long and was bound together with skin.
back pannier
Four pieces of Hazelwood that joined together into a U-shaped rod were found along with two short boards. Grass string held together the pieces and what was most likely a fur sack.
birch-bark container (1)
Otzi has 2 cylindrical, pot-shaped containers made of birch bark. One contained maple leaves, plant remains and charcoal.
birch-bark container (2)
This one was empty.
quiver and arrows
The quiver (the pouch you keep arrows in) was made of hide that had been stitched together by Hazelwood rods. It contained 2 completed arrows, 12 partly completed arrows shafts, 4 tips of stag antlers, 2 animal sinews and string.

25. Activity: Equipment catalogue
Go to to help you complete the last two columns.
Artefact
Brief Description
Possible Uses
Information Revealed
net
Fragments of grass net remain. It would have been suitable for catching birds or fish.
dagger with scabbard
This was kept in a scabbard or sheath made of leather and grass cord. It was 13cm long and had two cutting edges and a blade made of flint. The handle was made of ash wood. It was not in the scabbard when it was found and because Otzi seemed to have been holding something of this size when he died, researchers think he was holding his knife when he died.
retoucheur
This was used for sharpening tools. It was shaped like a pencil and was 12cm long. It was made from one piece of a stag antler driven into a piece of lime branch.
belt pouch
Birch fungus was used to treat minor wounds and stomach aches. It was found threaded onto two fur strips. The fur strips may have been attached to his wrists or clothing for safe keeping.

26. Importance of the sloe berry
Research the importance of
the sloe - berry, a stone bead
with tassles and two pieces
of birch fungi.
1. Why were they in Iceman’s
possession?
2. What might they have
been used for?
3. What tests were done on the
sloe berry and what does it
reveal about Iceman’s death?

27. Iceman’s clothing
The leggings were made of goat hide, covered the calf and thigh. At the top, two laces joined the leg to the belt, while – near the feet – laces attached to Otzi’s shoes to stop them from riding up.
The loincloth was made of thin strips of leather and was worn over the belt and leggings. They were more than a metre in length and approximately 30cm wide. The strips were held together with animal sinew (sinew is the tough tissue that connects muscles to bones).
The fur cap looked like a baseball cap without the front part. It was made of strips of fur that were stitched together. Two leather straps that went under the chin kept the cap in place.
The shoes have soles made of bearskin and the outside made of deer skin, with fur on the outside of the skin. Inside the shoes, grass netting held hay (which acted as insulation) in place.

28. Iceman’s clothing
The belt was made of calf hide and was long enough to go around Otzi’s waist twice. There was a pouch attached to the belt that had a flint, bone tools and tinder fungus. Tinder fungus is a type of mushroom that catches fire very quickly and is good for starting fires.
The coat was made of goat hide stitched together with animal sinews (only one third of the coat survived). It appears that the coat was worn a lot because there were tears in it that had been repaired using grass. The coat was open from the front and was striped. It is possible that it had sleeves – but these have not survived.
Cloak: three sections of plaited grass have been found. It has been thought that these could have been the remains of a cloak that has slits for arms. Because such a garment would not have been very useful, some archaeologists believe that these pieces would have been worn over the head as protection from the rain or were part of Otzi’s backpack.

29. a b c d Iceman’s clothing – a) leggings and belt b) loincloth
c) cap, outer garment and shoes
d) grass cloak

30. For Discussion
What does Iceman’s equipment suggest about his lifestyle?
How well equipped was he to defend himself?
How well equipped was he to gather food?
4. Was he suitably clothed for:
a) the region in which he lived?
b) the lifestyle he seems to have led?
5. Make a list of a modern hiker’s equipment (e.g: a back-pack). What similar equipment did Iceman have?
6. What does a comparison of this type reveal about Iceman’s preparedness for his environment and lifestyle?

31. Documentaries
History Channel
Nova