ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) (53 page)

History of the Iceman

On
September
19
,
1991
, a
German couple hiking in the
Alps
between
Austria
and
Italy
saw a human head and shoulders protruding from the ice. They reported their find to the police
.
Not recognizing the antiquity of the find,
a number of people
attempted to hack the body roughly from the ice
, disturbing the evidence
. Eventually the body and the artifacts found
near it
were taken to the forensic department of the
University
of
Innsbruck
. An archaeologist was finally called in and immediately dated the find to more
than four thousand years old. This date was later revised to 5,300 years old.
It was a sensational discovery. Never before had a body from that period been found intact.
The Iceman, the world
’s
oldest and best-preserved mummy, is now in the
Archaeological
Museum
in
Bolonzo
,
Italy
, where scientists continue to study him intensively.
He was nick-named Otzi, after the adjoining Otz valley.

The Iceman was found lying face down at
10,500 feet
in the Italian Alps, in a depression between two transverse ridges of rock. Glacial ice covered the depression. He was naked from the waist up. The most recent findings show that he had been hit in the left shoulder with an arrow
and that the arrowhead was still embedded his shoulder, indicating that he had been shot from behind.
The Iceman also
had a deep jagged wound in his right hand
and had suffered a hard blow to the back of his head, as evidenced by hematoma and skull fracture.

The artifacts found on or around the Iceman were:

Clothing
: though naked from the waist up, many articles of clothing appropriate for a journey in the mountains were found lying near the body
.

A
tunic made from pieces of domestic goat hide, which had been cross-stitched together
with animal sinew.

A
plaited cape made of
Alpine swamp grass which the Iceman may have worn as a cape or over his heard to keep out rain
. It was
secured by string.

L
eggings
made of
many pieces o
f
domestic goat hide cross-stitched together that covered his legs from ankle to thigh. Deerskin and leather laces held them in place.

Shoes consisting of
two parts
, the outer part made of deerskin,
with the fur outside,
the inner part of tree bast netting that held hay insulation in place.
Both are attached to an oval leather sole by straps. The upper part was closed by shoelaces and the ankle was bound with tree bast
fibers
to prevent damp from getting in
.

A fur
hat
of semispherical shape with ties that went under the chin.

A b
elt made of calf’s leather
that could be wound twice around the hips
.

A pouch, or “
fanny pack
”, made
from
a piece of sewn on leather.
The longest side was strengthened by decorative stitching, and it could be closed with a fine leather thong.
The
pouch contained
lumps of fungus for making fires
that had traces of pyrite materials, indicating that Otzi used it to produce sparks made by
a pyrite mineral
, and
traces of black fibers that may have been used for tinder
.

A loin cloth made of long narrow strips of goat leather cross-stitched together. It was worn between the legs and fastened to the belt.

Some of the thread to make various repairs in the clothing and other items were made of grasses, suggesting no ready supply of sinew for thread during his travels.

T
he equipment
:

An awl, a multi-functional tool that could be used for sewing, making tattoos or
as
a toothpick.

Tinder fungus - ideal for lighting fires if it is kept dry. Traces of iron pyrite show that Otzi knew how to use it to make fires.

A flint knife or dagger
in a
wooden (ash) handle
and bound with animal sinews
, which was found in Otzi’s clenched hand
.

A sheath
for the knife
made of mesh of tree bast and sewn with double-plaited grass fibers. A leather eye allowed it to be fastened to the belt
with straps
so that it was easily accessible
.

A
n axe with an unusual copper head
, indicating status, fixed to its
wood (yew) handle
by birch tar and
lashed to the blade with wet leather (that then shrank)
. It is the only completely intact prehistoric axe in the world.

A retoucher made from a piece of lime wood cut straight at one end and shaped to a point at the other
that
resembled
a pencil
. It was
probably
used for detailed work in making flint instruments.

A
n unfinished
71 inch
longbow
made of yew.
It was drenched in blood, which may have come from Otzi’s hand or may have been put there as a water repellant.

A
quiver of leather
supported by a long
Hazelwood
rod, which was broken into three pieces, with an elaborately decorated side pocket.

Two finished
arrows made of viburnum, each with three steering feathers, a broken arrow shaft and twelve shafts for making more arrows, which were never finished. Lengths of wide sinew for a new bow-string were found in the quiver, also some bones or antlers whittled to taper at both ends and rolled up with grass cordage.

A
large rucksack with a frame of hazel and larch
and two boards that served as horizontal connections for the two ends of the frame.
Pieces
of string were used to tie them on.

B
irch bark canisters that contained lumps of charcoal
wrapped in
maple leaves
,
which were
possibly embers from an earlier fire
.

Two flint scrapers, a gouging tool, a bone needle and a length of cordage spun from grass were also found nearby. The most puzzling artifact is a polished stone circlet with tassels of leather through its center. It is thought to be a talisman or possibly jewelry.

A first-aid kit containing the flesh of birch fungus which had antibiotic and
styptic
effects. The toxic
oi
ls in these fu
n
gi are effective against the
intestinal
parasites from which Otzi suffered.

Climate: The Iceman was found near a pass that is well used today, and would have been an obvious place to cross between the higher mountains in his time as well. He is thought to have died in late
spring
(new evidence
shows
spring pollen on his clothing), probably
during
an
unusually
late
snow in
a
year
of
climate change
.
Al
pine glaciers
began
to spread and deepen, and reach further down the mountains. At first
Oetzi
lay exposed except for a light covering of snow, and wind dehydrated his body. The snows soon began again; they changed to ice, and the glacier slowly grew around him.

Appearance
: The Iceman had wavy brown or black hair and was between 25
and 40 years old. He was about
5
feet
,
4
inches
tall. His back and legs have patterns of short dark lines that
resemble
tattoos
but
are probably
signs of acupuncture since they are found on the classic points for treatment of arthritis of the hips and legs, from which
Otzi
suffered. He also had parasitic stomach bacteria in his intestines. He carried lumps of tree fungus, held together with a strap, which had antibiotic properties and would have been helpful in treating his stomach ailment.

Diet:
Otzi
had eaten a
large
meal of ibex meat and
einkorn
grains
cooked on an open fire
not long before he died, and later ate
a little
more
meat
and grains
, possibly in the form of bread
.

Descendants
: We know that the Iceman fathered young because
genetic
tests on his body have led to the successful identification of a living
female
relative in
Great Britain
. The tests show the presence in both of a gene that passes unchanged from generation to generation through the maternal line. (Bryan Sykes; the Seven Daughters of Eve,
2001
)

Occupation
:
The I
ceman
might have been a trader or a
shepherd bringing his animals back from their high summer pastures
.
This practice continues today in the Otzal Alps where he was found. He may also have been a hunter since he ate wild game, and, as I have posited, he may have been traveling on an entirely different type of mission. We
may
never know with certainty.

Home:
Pollens found in Otzi’s stomach indicate that he lived in the Vinschgau valley just south of the Alpine mountain chain. Further evidence of this location comes from the
mosses he carried
.

Cause of death
: For almost ten years, scientists speculated about how and why the Iceman died. Theories ranged from ritual killing to freezing to death in a storm, to unspecified violence. The discovery in July 2001 of a flint arrowhead embedded in his left shoulder (until this time X-rays had revealed no external injuries) and
the later discovery of the
two other wounds
provided more concrete answers to the
long-standing mystery
-
Otzi
ha
d died
as a result of
a final violent confrontation.
The deep
gash
in his right hand
would have rendered it useless, and
the injury to the back of his head
would have stunned him
, leaving him defenseless. His wounds did
not kill
him
right away,
but
they played important roles in his death
.
They
were inflicted soon before death and had not had time to heal, and may have bled severely
.

We
know that his attacker shot him in the back from behind with an arrow, but we may never know with certainty
how Otzi’s head was injured or how his hand was wounded. An assailant could have hit his head, or he might have fallen, as I have suggested. Similarly, the wound to his hand could have been made by a knife with a rough edge or
the jagged end of the arrow shaft, as
in Ice Burial.
It can be assumed, however, that the Iceman managed to escape his attackers and flee up the mountain since none of his valuable tools (the copper axe was especially valuable) were taken. Probably he died later as a result of the combined effects of two painful wounds, exhaustion and exposure, the unexpectedly early storm and the weakening effects of the minor illnesses from which he suffered.

Despite the most recent evidence that
helps to
explain his death, mysteries about the Iceman still abound. Who were his attackers, and why did they attack him? What was he doing on the high pass with such wounds? His equipment makes it obvious that he was an experienced traveler who took with him everything he might need, so he must have made many trips successfully. Why was this one unusual? Why was his knife in his wounded hand, which could not grasp it
because of the injury
? Why was he naked from the waist up? What prompted him to remove his clothing in a snowstorm? Why did he die exactly where he was, between two ridges?