Ötzi the Iceman

Ötzi redirects here. For the Austrian singer and entertainer, see DJ Ötzi.

Ötzi the Iceman (also spelled Oetzi), Frozen Fritz, and The Similaun Mummy are modern nicknames of a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about 3300 BC, found in 1991 in a glacier of the Ötztal Alps, near the border between Austria and Italy. The nickname comes from the valley in which he was discovered. He rivals the Egyptian "Ginger" as the oldest known human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view on the Chalcolithic (Copper-stone Age) Europeans.

Discovery

Ötzi was found by two German tourists, Helmut and Erika Simon, on September 19, 1991. The body was at first thought to be a modern corpse, like several others which had been recently found in the region. It was roughly recovered by the Austrian authorities and taken to Innsbruck, where its true age was finally discovered. Subsequent surveys showed that the body had been located a few meters inside Italian territory. It is now on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.

Scientific analysis

The body has been extensively examined, measured, x-rayed, and dated. Tissues and gut contents were examined microscopically, as was the pollen found on his gear.

The body

At the time of his death, Ötzi was approximately 160 cm (5'3") tall, 40 to 53 years old by current estimates. Analysis of pollen and dust grains and the isotopic composition of his tooth enamel indicate that he spent his childhood near the present village of Feldthurns, north of Bolzano, but later went to live in valleys about 50 km further north. Analysis by Franco Rollo's group at the University of Camerino has shown that Otzi's mitochondrial DNA belongs to the K1 subcluster of the mitochondrial haplogroup K, but that it cannot be categorized into any of the three modern branches of that subcluster.

Analysis of Ötzi's intestinal contents showed two meals (the last one about eight hours before his death), one of chamois meat, the second of red deer meat, both consumed with some grain as well as some roots and fruits. The grain from both meals was a highly processed einkorn wheat bran, quite possibly eaten in the form of bread. There were also a few kernels of sloes (small plum-like fruits of the blackthorn tree).

Pollen in the first meal showed that it had been consumed in a mid-altitude conifer forest, and other pollens indicated the presence of wheat and legumes, which may have been domesticated crops. Also, pollen grains of hop-hornbeam were discovered. The pollen was very well preserved with even the cells inside still intact, indicating that it had been fresh (few hours old) at the time of Ötzi's death. This find places the event in the spring. Interestingly, einkorn wheat is harvested in the late summer, and sloes in the autumn; these must have been stored since the year before.

Isotope analyses from his hair collagen indicated either Ötzi had been a lifelong vegetarian (unlikely, considering his last meal and attire), or had obtained most of his protein from sea foods (unlikely as well, considering the places he had lived in according to the teeth enamel analyses).

Tattoos

He had 57 tattoos, some of which were located on or near acupuncture points that coincide with the modern points that would be used to treat symptoms of diseases that Ötzi seems to have suffered from, such as osteoarthrosis. The Iceman had also been seized with whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), an intestinal parasite. Some scientists found evidence that the location of the tattoos were selected for therapeutic reasons in a system very similar to modern acupuncture ^*,^*,^*.

Clothes and shoes

Ötzi's clothes, including a woven grass cloak and leather vest and shoes, were quite sophisticated. The shoes were waterproof and wide, seemingly designed for walking across the snow; they were constructed using bearskin for the soles, deer hide for top panels, and a netting made of tree bark. Soft grass went around the foot and in the shoe and functioned like warm socks.

The shoes have since been reproduced by experts and found to constitute such excellent footwear that there are plans for commercial production ^*. However, a more recent theory by British archaeologist Jacqui Wood says that Ötzi's "shoes" were actually the upper part of snowshoes. According to this theory, the item currently interpreted as part of a backpack is actually the wood frame and netting of one snowshoe.

Other equipment

Other items found with the Iceman were a copper axe with a yew handle, a flint knife with an ash handle, a quiver full of arrows with viburnum and dogwood shafts and flint heads, and an unfinished yew longbow that was taller than he was.

Among Ötzi's possessions were two species of polypore mushrooms. One of these (the birch fungus) is known to have antibacterial properties, and was likely used for medical purposes. The other was a type of tinder fungus, included with part of what appeared to be a complex firestarting kit. The kit featured pieces of over a dozen different plants, in addition to flint and pyrite for creating sparks.

An ancient crime?

A CAT scan revealed that Ötzi had what appeared to be an arrowhead lodged in one shoulder when he died, matching a small tear on his coat. The arrow shaft had been removed, apparently by a companion. He also had bruises and cuts on his hands, wrists, and chest. DNA analysis revealed traces of blood from four other people on his gear: one from his knife, two from the same arrowhead, and a fourth from his coat.

Other theories

Before the latest evidence, it was speculated that Ötzi had been a victim of a ritual sacrifice, perhaps for being a chieftain. This explanation may have been inspired by theories previously advanced for the 1st millennium BC bodies recovered from peat bogs, such as the Tollund Man and the Lindow Man.

One of the most fanciful theories was that he was in fact an Egyptian who had been ritually castrated. Later examination, however, revealed that, though shrunken by the mummification, Ötzi did in fact possess a penis.

Other frozen corpses

In 2004, frozen bodies of three Austro-Hungarian soldiers killed during the Battle of San Matteo (1918) were found. One body was sent to a museum in the hope that research on how the environment affected its preservation will help to find out about Ötzi's past and future evolution.

In North America, the first "Iceman" was discovered in 1999 in the Samuel Glacier, British Columbia. He was named Kwäday Dän Ts’ínchi (Long Ago Person Found; for short: KDT) by the local First Nation tribes. Not nearly as old as Ötzi he died about 550 years ago.

The "Curse of the Iceman"

Some reporters have noted the deaths of several people related to the discovery of the mummy, including its discoverer Helmut Simon, and have tried to connect them to a presumed curse of Ötzi the Iceman — similar to the one that was allegedly attached to the mummy of Tutankhamun.

Many people have dismissed the theory by noting that everybody eventually dies, and that mountain climbers are risk takers and often die early of accidental causes. They have noted also that many more researchers and scientists who have worked closely with Ötzi's body have not died in the years since his discovery in 1991. The Guardian commented on the alleged curse explaining: "Like all good curse theories, natural death, accidents and sheer bad luck have been compressed into a single sinister hypothesis." ^*

References

"Infertility link in iceman's DNA". (Feb. 3, 2006). BBC.

External links

Anthropology | Curses | Mummies | Archaeological artefacts | Copper Age

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