Ancientstmarouns.yolasite.com



Ötzi The Ice Man

The Iceman was discovered in 1991 by two German hikers in near the Austrian/Italian border in the Alps. Initially thought to be a recent hiker due to good preservation, the Ice Man was removed quite roughly with no consideration for its historical value. The improper tools and means of excavation lead to several damages to the Iceman’s body and tools (e.g. his arm and bow was broken). Otzi’s began to defrost and develop fungus until he was eventually placed in a freezer.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

• Carbon dating at several university laboratories revealed the body to be approximately 5300 years old in the Neolithic or New Stone Age.

• The Ice Man was also proved to be aged 35-40 at his time of death and approximately 158cm tall.

• First Theory: Otzi was a Shepard due to his strong physique and signs of life long strain on his legs which suggest a lot of walking and he was found on the track often used to herd sheep. His clothing and tools were perfectly suited to the mountain climate. However this was not conclusive evidence and the correlation theory can lead in incorrect results.

• The winding of the thread on the arrow suggests he was right handed.

• Through microscopic analysis, Otzi’s last meal consisted of dried wheat, bread and meat and there were also traces of pollen in his stomach content. Pollen is noted to be a “fingerprint for each season” (Spindler). The initial idea was that Otzi died in autumn because flowers and plants usually pollinate in autumn.

When the Iceman was re-examined later, it was determined that the pollen was from the Hop Hornbeam tree which only pollinates in Spring. This affected the circumstances in which he died.

• Using the 3D CAT scan data and a rapid prototyping machine, scientists created a life size replica of Otzi’s skull which later developed into a 3D facial reconstruction of the Iceman.

CAUSE OF DEATH

• Spindler initially explained Otzi’s death through a natural disaster where the Iceman was simply a “victim of the weather” and suffered from hypothermia following a sudden storm in the Alps.

• Using X-Rays and Cat scans, it was revealed that Otzi’s ribs were severely distorted so Spindler concluded his death through the ‘Disaster Theory’ where Otzi was severely wounded from a violent encounter within his village and fled to the mountains for refuge where he then dies of hypothermia.

► Through continued investigation and the implementation of new scientific techniques, Spindler’s initially accepted ‘Disaster Theory’ has proven invalid.

• After 10 years of extensive researching, Paul Gosner X-Rayed the body using Computerised Tomography and discovered a significantly overlooked feature. In Otzi’s shoulder there was a foreign body later identified as a flint arrowhead through a cat scan. This significantly overturned previous theories of the Iceman’s death and prompted a new, more convincing one.

► Otzi was believed to have been attacked and when he tried to escape he had been shot by an arrow but still managed to escape into the mountains. He managed to pull out the arrow shaft but not the arrowhead. Once reaching his destination, he was suffering from exhaustion, shock and a great loss of blood.

An analysis of the area of flesh the arrow has pierced indicated that it had hit a lot of arteries which would have contributed greatly to his death.

SOCIETY

• An examination of Otzi’s tools indicated that the initially perceived ‘bronze axe’ was in fact made out of copper which showed that Otzi’s time was more advanced than expected that he had lived at the end of the Stone Age and beginning of the Copper Age. This is reinforced by the arsenic that was discovered in his hair through a proton microprobe which indicates that Otzi was exposed to smelting.

• Otzi’s clothing made from fur and leather was also more advanced than the preconceived notions of the technology from the prehistoric period. E.g. The construction of his shoes were very effective. His clothing had few woven textiles, mainly from animal hides. “Everything we know about clothing from the Neolithic age in Europe is from him” – Dr. Markus Egarter.

• An analysis of the arrow also suggested that Neolithic people understood the ballistic principles associated in making effective arrows – as shown by feathers on the arrows.

• The flint arrowhead was determined to only be found in a certain area. Through a geological study of the stone’s microfossils, the stone was believed to originate in Germany which suggests the extended trade network of the prehistoric age. Further than what was previously assumed.

• The grains of corn discovered on the Iceman suggest he had contact with an agrarian and thus Neolithic society which had the ability to harvest corn.

ETHICAL ISSUES

• Controversy over who owned the Iceman → Austria, Italy, Scientists, Historians?

• There was territorial disputes between Austria and Italy at the time and the discovery and ownership of Otzi simply enflamed these disagreements.

• Ultimately, the body was discovered 96 metres into the Italian border.

• The celebrity status of the body shows how ancient remains can be closely connected to people’s sense of heritage. “One of our European ancestors”.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download