More than 30 years ago, Ötzi the Iceman was discovered lying face-down in the ice on the edge of a lake near the Ötztal Alps that borders Austria and Italy. Since then, he has become Europe's most famous mummy as he quickly became a global sensation, being preserved for more than 5,000 years.
There was even a film about the reconstruction of Ötzi the Iceman that lived during Neolithic Europe and some theories on his violent death. Experts said that Ötzi is a representative of the Copper Age (3500 B.C. to 1700 B.C.) preserved to this day after being murdered, as seen from the traces of his brutal death.
A statue representing an iceman named Oetzi, discovered on 1991 in the Italian Schnal Valley glacier, is displayed at the Archaeological Museu of Bolzano on February 28, 2011 during an official presentation of the reconstrution.
Who Was Ötzi the Iceman?
After his discovery on September 19, 1991, by German holidaymakers Erika und Helmut Simon, Ötzi the Iceman has become the subject of a scientific mystery. National Geographic reported that careful analysis has revealed that Ötzi was a 46-year-old man standing at a short height of 5'2" and a left-handed who has a US size of 8 feet.
Astonishingly, his eyes were still preserved in their sockets and genomic analysis revealed that he had brown eyes and dark brown hair with a Mediterranean skin tone. Additionally, scientists found that Ötzi had type O blood, was lactose intolerant, and suffered a genetic anomaly that prevented his 12th pair of ribs from forming completely.
Moreover, the analysis showed that he sports 61 tattoos, had several broken ribs, and had horizontal grooves on his fingernails that indicate repeated physical stress. Scientists estimate that Ötzi's body must have been preserved for 5,200 years.
Scientists also concluded that Ötzi was part of the migration of Neolithic farmers from Anatolia (now called Turkey) some 8,000 to 6,000 years ago. Although his maternal lineage no longer exists, his paternal line lives on in Mediterranean islands.
Ötzi's Clothes, Tools and Last Meal
According to Live Science, a detailed analysis of Ötzi's artifacts have revealed the kind of life he once lived. When he was discovered, scientists also found scattered bits of leather, plant fiber, string, ax, animal hide, and an unfinished bow near him.
Subsequent excavation revealed more animal hide, leather, a knife, pieces of his clothing, and an arrow quiver. Archaeologists were able to reconstruct the wardrobe of the Iceman, which includes a coat, leggings, belt, loincloth, bearskin cap, and shoes made from deer hide stretched on a string netting and using grass as an insulator.
They also said that Ötzi had a hearty meal of red deer, ibex, and einkorn wheat hours before his death based on the CT scan they conducted in 2009.
Death and Preservation
Scientists identified a gash between Ötzi's thumb and the first finger of his right hand, which they believe was stabbed days before his death. But that wound was not fully healed yet when an arrow hit him at an artery in his back left shoulder that caused him to bleed to death within minutes.
He was naturally mummified after his death in early summer based on the analysis of pollen and maple leaves he carried. Some scientists believe that warm summer winds could have dried him out. However, another theory suggests that the frigid temperatures of the Ötztal Alps have likely preserved the Iceman because of his frozen brain that was preserved in its desiccated form.
Researchers at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy, are tending Ötzi, where he is kept in a custom cold chamber maintained at -21.2 degrees Fahrenheit (-29.5 degrees Celsius). He is regularly sprayed with sterile water about four to five times a year to create an icy, protective exoskeleton to ensure that he remains a "wet mummy" preserved in a wet environment.
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