Otzi The Ice Man

As our historical journey takes us now into the age of copper, I'd be remiss not to discuss Otzi the Ice Man.

Otzi the Ice Man died fighting. His weapons consisted of a copper axe with a yew handle, an ash handled flint knife, fourteen arrows made from vibernum and dogwood, and a 6 foot long bow made from yew.

There were others with him, how many we don't know, nor do we know against whom he was fighting. However, although at first he was thought to have died from exposure, a flint arrow head was found in his shoulder. From DNA found on his clothing, the blood of four other people was discovered.

He was a little man, about 5 foot 5 inches tall and a wispy 110lbs., but even so it seemed that he may well have slung one of his companions over his shoulder, presumably in an attempt to help him to safety. From the position of the arrowhead, it was a kill shot. Even if he'd had recourse to modern medicine, it's doubtful he'd have survived.

So he died, there on the snowy slopes of the Otztal Alps, in the Schnalstal glacier near Hauslabjoch, du lịch trung quốc giá rẻ less than 100 metres inside Italian territory.

The people who found him were from Nuremberg, a couple named Helmut and Erika Simon. They were on a hiking holiday, and they literally fell over him. It was thought at first that Otzi was a soldier from the First World War, since three or four had already been found. His disinterrment, therefore, was far from gentle - until scientists arrived on the scene and found the importance of the discovery.

All this happened in September 1991, and a very long drawn out and intensely detailed examination of the mummified corpse and the clothing began.

His age was assumed to be around 40 years. When his hair was examined, it was found to have large quantities of copper and arsenic in it, suggesting he may have been involved in the copper trade at some time in his life. His leg and hip bones suggested he walked the mountains a great deal, so he could have been a shepherd. He had a number of tattoos on him, strangely enough at acupuncture points; lower back, behind the knees and on the ankles. Was this purely coincidental, or did they understand acupuncture in those far-off days?

An examination of his internal organs showed that he was suffering from a stomach parasite and that he'd been ill at times during the past year.

He was clothed in a cloak of woven grass, beneath which was a coat, leggings, and a loincloth. All these were made of skins of various animals. A bearskin cap and du lịch trung quốc giá rẻ excellent shoes completed the ensemble. The latter were broad and ideal for snowy conditions. They had bearskin soles, leather uppers, and soft grass surrounded the feet, du lịch trung quốc giá rẻ acting like good quality socks.

The accurate dating methods that they have now placed him as living 5,300 years ago. He came, therefore, from the Chalcolithic age, or Copper period.

An interesting point to ponder is that there must almost certainly be others of his type lying rigid somewhere in the glacier. From his weapons, it was realized that he'd shot the same arrow twice, retrieving it both times and that therefore it must have killed twice. He would never have been allowed to retrieve it otherwise.

So I'm sure there's another Otzi out there somewhere, just waiting for another hiker to trip over him