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Otzi The Iceman Fact file

Textbook: Antiquity 122-120
YouTube clips
Documentary Otzi Reborn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncdyEduYRXg

When found Thursday 19th September, 1991

Where found Otztal Alps (border of Austria and Italy) and by CHANCE
Who found Erika and Helmut Simons (german tourists)
How found They were on a mountaineering holiday in the Italian South Tyrol. Returning from an expedition to the Finailspitze
peak they left the track to take a shortcut
Initial excavation from  Body was excavated from the ice using a pneumatic chisel as well as ice picks, poles and an axe
mountainside  The chisel slipped and cut into the flesh, particularly on the left hip, pelvis, buttock and thigh
How??????  The body has exposure to the sun and air allowed the iceman to thaw and a fungus had started to grow
Spindler’s initial  Male
findings  160cm – looked at his bones
 Hair: brown/black wavy. Covered in copper and on the inside contained arsenic
 Injuries: unhealed serial fractures of four ribs on the ride side and what initially appeared as healed serial
fractures of five ribs on the left side
º Right humerus slightly decalcified. This indicated relative inactivity of this arm for about two months
º Post mortem damage. Gash to the back of the head and damage to the elft pelvis, buttock and thigh
 General health: x-ray show calcification
º Fat deposit/ high cholesterol
º Worn joints
 DIET:
º 1st - Shamwon meat
º 2nd – deer meat
º Some charcoal bread
º Einkorn wheat
º Pollen from an mid-altitude alpine region
º Other pollen suggested he’d been close by to villages where there were corps growing, domesticated

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wheat, closer to the bottom of the mountain

º He was the host to an intestinal worm, wheat worm
º Small bits of moss were found in his digestive system
 He was prepared for his environment e.g. his weapons and fungi, tools
How old? 5 300 years old – initially put him in the late stone age HOWEVER the copper axe found with Otzi suggests that
C14 copper was mined, and smelted earlier than previously though. This lead to the re-dating of the copper age. The
iceman was proof that the transition from the Neolithic to the copper age happened much earlier than previously
thought
 Age  45 years old (great age for that time)
 Sex  60 kg
 Height  Brown eyes
 Injuries  Lactose intolerant
 General health  Some Sardinians and Corsicans may have him as an ancestor
 Post mortem  Body type of an Olympian wrestler
 Significance of  CLOTHING:
copper/ arsenic º Leggings – goats leather
 Significance of º Loincloth
tattoos º Poncho
º Cap
º Shoes – water proof, three different types of materials
º Cape – sheepskin
 GENERAL HEALTH:
º He had some kind of illness before his death
º Cardiovascular disease
º He walked a lot – hip displaced and extremely worn down
 TATTOS:
º One of several groups of vertical lines are located to the left and right of the spinal column. Others are
on the left calf, on the right instep and on the inner and outer ankle joint, two further lines cross the left
wrist. A cross-shaped mark appears on the back of the right knee and beside the left Achilles tendon
º Later researchers considered that the tattoos may have been intended as therapeutic measures to
hopefully combat arthritis rather than as decorative or religious symbols as, astonishingly, these tattooed

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areas seem to correspond to accepted skin acupuncture lines

º Before Otzi it was thought that this treatment had only originated two thousand years later in Asia
º Group of blue/black lines concentrated near the lumbar spine, knees and ankles
º X-rays show that these bones and joints displayed signs of wear and tear
º All up there were 61 tattoos
 He is mobile
º He had a quiver
º In process of making arrows
º A flint knife
º Copper axe
º Containers (birch bark)
º Fungi attached to belt – meal or antibiotic use
 Sloe: fruit of blackthorn, high vitamin content and ripens in autumn
 Tassel with marble head
 Net
 Quiver and contents
º Two arrows completed, 12 unfinished
Weapons and tools  Copper axe – all different types of wood were found in his weapons
o 6 types of wood: sub alpine species
 Unfinished bow
 Backpack had fur
 Ibex bones – they were gnawed and chewed
 Dagger with scabbard
 The retoucher
 Belt pouch
 Birch fungi
 Knife had residue of moss – using it to create a fire when dried but also for toilet paper
Where did Otzi come Information and supporting evidence
from?  Using the isotopic analysis showed that he came from northern Italy
How old was the 45 years olds
iceman?

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What was Otzi’s  Examination of hands and nails show that he was a labourer
occupation? º He had chipped nails
 Sheppard/ º Involved in smelting the copper metal – they found copper in his hair
Farmer
 Sharman
 Prospector
 Warrior
What time of year did
Otzi die?
 Autumns
 Spring
Theories of cause of Who
death When
 Spindler’s Interpretation
hypothermia Evidence to prove / disprove information
theory  Spindler’s hypothermia theory
 Spindler’s Who
disaster theory Spindler
Murdered When
 Wounded Interpretation
 Arrow He could’ve died of long exposure to the cold
 Wound to the Evidence to prove / disprove information
head
 Attacked by  Arrow head in his back shoulder
many attackers  He had cardiovascular disease
 Deliberate burial  Blood type O
following death

Forensic and DNA List

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analysis What do we now know!

Textbook and articles  There were 4 different blood groups were on Otzi and his clothing and his arrowheads
 He killed two people and retrieved the arrows and carried someone on his back
 He was hit in the head
To display or not to
display

When found Thursday 19th September, 1991

Where found Otztal Alps (border of Austria and Italy) and by CHANCE
Who found Erika and Helmut Simons (german tourists)
How found They were on a mountaineering holiday in the Italian South Tyrol. Returning from an expedition to the Finailspitze
peak they left the track to take a shortcut
Initial excavation from  Body was excavated from the ice using a pneumatic chisel as well as ice picks, poles and an axe
mountainside  The chisel slipped and cut into the flesh, particularly on the left hip, pelvis, buttock and thigh
How??????  The body has exposure to the sun and air allowed the iceman to thaw and a fungus had started to grow
Spindler’s initial
findings
How old?
C14
 Age  Height: 5 foot – 5 foot 2 inches (160cm about)
 Sex  Strong muscle development
 Height  Skin on his hands were soft but nails were jagged
 Injuries  In his forties – using teeth
 General health  Has 61 tattoos
 Post mortem
 Significance of
copper/ arsenic
 Significance of
tattoos

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Weapons and tools

Where did Otzi come Information and supporting evidence
from?  A Neolithic settlement in the Val Venosta, an alpine valley in Northern Italy, approximately 20km from
where he was found
 His theory was based on the Iceman’s age, strong physique, equipment, clothing and place of death (a route
heads would cross the main ridge of the Alps)
 Since then an isotopic composition of his tooth enamel and bones have put him in South Tyrol in the village
of Feldthurns
 His childhood most likely spent in Eisack or Puster vallayes but has spent the last 10 years of his life in
Vinschgau (which is in Val Venosta)
How old was the  Believed he lived in the Bronze age, about 2000 BC (roughly 4000 years ago)
iceman?  Made this assumption because of the axe found with him
 Radiocarbon dating of the body was taken and the average fo the results were that he lived approximately
5300 years ago
What was Otzi’s A shepherd
occupation? he could be a figure of some importance
 Sheppard/ he could be a hunter – he was well fed
Farmer
 Sharman
 Prospector
 Warrior
What time of year did Spring
Otzi die?
 Autumns
 Spring
Theories of cause of Who
death When
 Spindler’s Interpretation
hypothermia Evidence to prove / disprove information
theory  Spindler’s hypothermia theory
 Spindler’s Who

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disaster theory Spindler

Murdered When
 Wounded 1991
 Arrow Interpretation
 Wound to the He was in the mountains too long so he got hypothermia
head Evidence to prove / disprove information
 Attacked by Murdered
many attackers  By one person? Died from blood loss?
 Deliberate burial  Arrow penetrated artery and has bleed to death
following death Robbery
 Was he a sharman? (a religious priest)
o Possibly a person of status
o But not a robbery because if they wanted the axe why didn’t they take it
evidence
 he had layers of pollen – hornbeam (low), conifer (higher) then hornbeam, maybe he went down, up then
back down then up to where he was killed
 he had a gash on his arm – conflict with a knife
 in the grain – einkorn where is a domesticated crop
 meat of a ibex
 he had a deliberate amount of food before his death
o an hour before his meal he had a substantial meal
 potentially killed by someone he knew but by surprise

 the perpetrator removed their arrow shaft and left the axe, taking great caution so they don’t get identified
as Otzi’s killer
 fracture in his eye socket
 parts of his brain are darker than others could be blood. Blunt force trauma to the head
 maybe shot then hit

Theory 1 – hyperthermia

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 Died in Autumn
 A shepherd who got caught in the Alps during a blizzard
 Died of hypothermia
 Damage to his skin on his little toe

Theory 2 – disaster theory

 Following X rays and CT scanning of the body several broken ribs
were discovered
The result a new theory
The disaster theory: autumn
 A violet conflict (attack on his village) had arisen in which Otzi was involved
 Otzi was wounded, (broken ribs) escaped and fled into the mountains
 Inadequate equipment (unfinished bows and arrows) and insufficient food
 Otzi laid down in a gully for protection, fell asleep and died of hypothermia and was buried in the ice
Debunking the disaster theory three interpretations – death time of year: pollen
Peter Vanesis a forensic pathologist
AUTUMN
 Every plant releases its own unique type of pollen and different plants release their pollen at different times of year,
so pollen acts as a fingerprint for each season.
 If the ice had formed immediately after Ötzi's death then any pollen trapped inside it would tell the scientists the
season when the Iceman died; and that seemed to be the case. As they analysed each grain they discovered that all the
pollen came from plants that flower in one season.
 It seemed Ötzi had died in the autumn.
SPRING
 To be sure of the season of death Klaus Oeggl(botanist) needed pollen that could only have been deposited at the
same time Ötzi died.
 This meant extracting internal food remains
 Within the remains it was hoped to find pollen ingested by Otzi before he died.
 Found pollen from the hop hornbeam tree
 FLOWERS IN SPRING
Damage to the ribs
Violent Conflict
 Wolfgang Recheis, an expert in 3D X-ray imaging. His job was to look inside the Iceman. He was part of a team that
would begin to suspect that Ötzi's death was no accident. On one side the ribs were severely distorted. It looked

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like they might have been fractured. This seemed to indicate that Ötzi had suffered a major injury shortly
before death.
Pressure of Glacier
 Vanesis suggests that the ribs were not broken just pushed out of place by the weight of the glacier

Indentation on the head and movement of body

The body had not moved over time
 Another key assumption of the disaster theory was that the Iceman had been frozen in a layer of ice until his
discovery, with the scene remaining completely unchanged for thousands of years
The body moved due to melting on glacier
 Klaus Oeggel examined the objects found with Ötzi. Amongst the many items found was a quiver packed with
arrows.
 Thirteen of these were the same length, but one of the arrows was shorter than the others.
 Oeggl sorted through fragments of grass and fibre that had been found several metres from the quiver and found
some pieces of wood . They looked as if they might be from the mysterious broken arrow. They were which suggests
the site had been disturbed over time
 Something on the back of Ötzi's head seemed to suggest that he had once lain on his back.
 Peter Vanesis examined the mark on the back of the head which looked very much like a pressure mark and where a
pressure mark would be if the head was, was laying on something hard. Also Otzi’s ear was bent over. It appears that
Otzi at one time had been laying on his back.
 Evidence suggests that Otzi had drifted in different directions over time
MURDERED – 2001 arrow head
 June 2001 Eduard Egarter Vigl decided to X-ray the Iceman again.
 The X-rays of Ötzi were given to the Head of Radiology at Bolzarno Hospital, Dr Paul Gostner who examined them
and found an unusual shadow near the shoulder
 Gostner used the CAT scan data to examine its density. The result was clear: the object was far denser than bone. It
was the same as flint.
 Vigl stated that it was very clear to both of us what we were dealing with. We had this unmistakable X-ray with a
shadow and we had its density which meant the only explanation was that it was from an arrow
So was this an old or new wound?
 Otzi was turned over on his stomach and thawed out. As the ice melted away there on the shoulder directly in line
with the arrow was a small wound
 Vigel found that it was a fresh wound, not an old wound. We can see that from the way the cut looks, that it's a
diagonal incision and you can only see that in fresh wounds. The second important point is behind the wound. There
in the depth of the incision is a brown coloured spot and this comes from blood and both these factors tell us that it's a

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fresh wound.
Defensive wounds 2003 and various blood types 2003
 2003 histological and biochemical evidence suggested that Otzi sustained a very deep cut to his right hand
 Would had not healed
 Defensive type of wound
 Dr Thomas Loy found various blood types on Otzi and his clothing suggesting a multiple attack
 Blood found on the back of Otzi's coat could have come from a wounded companion that he was carrying, but that the
arrows and knife blade suggest that he was also fighting off at least two foes.
Blow to head 2007
 CT scans revealed that Otzi suffered a severe blow to the back of the head shortly before death
 Minute samples of clotted brain material were found indicating bruising to the brain
 2012 and endoscopy found fibrin (clotting agent only present in human blood for a short time)
 Otzi survived for a minimal time after the head wound
Theory 3 – Burial Theory 2010
 Professor Luca Bondioli of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnology in Rome and his US-Italian team,
published this theory in the journal Antiquity.
 “Burial theory" may explain some perplexing facts about Oetzi.
For example, analysis suggests he died in the spring because the pollen of plants that bloom at that time of year is found in
his gut. However, pollen within the ice suggests that the corpse was deposited in the late summer.
 Professor Bondioli and his team say that these facts makes most sense if the body was deliberately carried to its site
of discovery many months after death and buried
 Professor Bondioli elaborated: "Oetzi must have been a very important person to be taken to this high mountain pass
for burial. Perhaps he was some sort of a chieftain."
Where are we now -what do we know?
 Moved up and down the mountain ( different pollens, hop hornbeam, conifer, hop hornbeam))
 Sound Last meal( bread made from einkorn wheat, ibex meat, fact, charcoal)
 Shot with arrow in back near subclavian artery- bled out
 New wound due to the presence of the haematoma in the surrounding tissue
 Blunt force trauma to head( bleeding on the brain and fractured skull. Was he hit or did he fall and hit his
head?) suggests bleeding while dying
 Defensive wound on hand which had not healed( suggests hand to had fighting with a knife)
 Fractured ribs( evidence of a fight prior to death)
 Different types of blood

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Forensic and DNA List

analysis What do we now know!
Textbook and articles 2013 CT scans:
 Teeth had several cavities
 Extensive wear of tooth enamel
 Advanced periodontitis in the area of the rear molars
2014 CT scan:
 Build-up of calcium in arteries consistent with atherosclerosis
 Had cardiovascular disease revealed in studies of the DNA
2011:
 Eaten uncleaned ibex meat (ash and animal hair were present)
 Forest berries and einkorn grains (an ancient variety of wheat) less than two hours before his death
2016:
 Helicobacter pylori was found in his stomach
 Found in have the worlds population and causes gastritis and stomach ulcers
 He had an unexpected strain of the bacterium, causing them to change their ideas about the history of
settlements in Europe
2003:
 Histological and biochemical evidence showed that he had a cut at the base of his right thumb down to the
bone, consistent with a defensive wound that had not healed before death
2015:
 New multispectral imaging using ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelengths revealed tattoos not seen
previously
 Many deep in the skin layer on his lower right ribcage
 He had 61 tattoos
o Lower back
o Legs
o Mostly arranged in parallel lines
o Associated with medical treatment
2007 CT scans:
 Suffered a blow to the back of the head shortly before death
 They found traces of clotted bran cells indicating bruising to the brain

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2012:
 An endoscopy showed traces of clotting protein called fibrin – only present in human blood very short time
after wound
 He survived for a minimal time after head wound
 Pelvic bone sample and its nuclear DNA they found out about the entire genome:
o Brown hair and brown eyes
o Was lactose intolerant – many people in this time still unable to digest milk properly as farming
livestock was still a relatively recent development
o Blood type O and belonged to the y-chromosomal haplogroup G2a2b which is rare in modern
Europe – ancestors migrated from the Middle East with the spread of agriculture
o 19 living relatives from region in Austria near where he was discovered who share his rare mutation
o More closely related to people living today in southern Europe than North Africa and the Middle
East – Sardinia and Corsica
o Carried genetic mutations that gave him a high risk of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis or
build-up of fat in his arteries
o Lyme disease – evidence of bacterium that causes the tick-borne disease was found in the DNA
2001:
 X-ray: flint arrowhead near shoulder
 Shot from the back – then pulled out
2007:
 CT scans revealed arrowhead had penetrated the left subclavian artery causing him to bleed to death in short
time
1998:
 Intestines revealed: pollen from the hop hornbeam plant, which flowers between march and June
 Died in spring
2003:
 DNA analysis of the ileum and colon (in intestine) revealed he had a breakfast of cereals, other plant food
and ibex meat up to 30hours before death
2006:
 Study of mitochondrial DNA by Dr Franco Rollo found evidence suggesting he was infertile
 May have suggested that his inability to father offspring may have caused him to be rejected by his peers
2016:

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 Mitochondrial DNA research resulted in conclusion of maternal genetic line originating in the Alps, is now
extinct due to migration of populations

 In his DNA Lyme disease has been detected – he has been bitten by a tick
o Oldest trace of Lyme disease – 5300 years ago
 His left knee shows that his knee contains swelling indicating he might have arthritis or Lyme disease
o Comes from wear and tear
 He has brown eyes and is from Sardinia or Corsica
 He also had a marker for heart disease
o Shows us that these diseases existed long ago
 The build up of calcium in the arteries and the veins – he has calcification occurring
 He was lactose intolerant – in the students were lactose intolerant and over time they will domesticate
animals and learn to drink it
o In the ancient world everyone could drink milk as babies but as they grew they lost that ability
Age of the sage:
 He belongs to the haplogroup K more specifically the subhaplogroup K1, meaning he shares a common
ancestor with at least 8% of modern Europeans
o Previously the K-1 subhaplogroup had three branches but the study revealed that Otzi belonged to a
previously unidentified cluster (now called K1o)
o “The maternal lineage of the iceman has apparently gone extinct/it’s possible that it could still be
there in the alps somewhere but if so its very rare and has not spread any farther than that
Daily mail
 Using 3D images of the corpse and forensic technology, two Dutch artists – Alfons and Adrie Kennis –
painstakingly created a new Otzi model. But the one thing they couldn’t determine was his natural eye
colour so they went with brown
 It is thought the arrow tore a hole in an artery beneath his left collarbone, leading to massive loss of blood
and the shock caused Otzi to suffer a heart attack. The fact that the arrows shaft was pulled out before his
death may have worsened the injury
To display or not to
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