The Good
Luckily, there are some claims that are true about the Iceman! And these claims are what I’ve dubbed the Fantastic Firsts!
Luckily, there are some claims that are true about the Iceman! And these claims are what I’ve dubbed the Fantastic Firsts!
- Oldest best preserved mummy: Ötzi is a 5,000
year old mummy that is completely preserved. This includes the skin, internal
organs, eyes, hair (fallen out but found beside him), clothing, and gear.
- First example of
this particular king of leggings
- First example of this particular shoe design
- First preserved fletching on prehistoric arrows
- Highest archaeological find in Europe at 3,200 m
(10,500 ft.)
- Europe’s oldest natural mummy
- Possibly one of the first documented uses of
polypore fungi used to treat intestinal infections (Still under debate).
- Possibly one of the first documented precursors
to acupuncture. The precursor corresponds to the tattooed lines that seem to
correspond with modern acupuncture points (Still under debate).
The Bad
Two stories, which originated in the media, claimed that this newfound discovery was just another hoax and that this mummy had a curse. It is an interesting twist that in this case a real archaeological find is first being called a hoax instead of a fake one being hailed as the missing link. In this case the news probably was a reaction of normal human skepticism, never before had such a well preserved mummy of this age been found. But with time the public accepted what the anthropologists knew, that these were the remains of a Neolithic man. And continuing with the stereotype of mummies the media then jumped onto the idea of curse as several people involved with the recovery of the Iceman had died. But once again this proved false; all the deaths the media pointed out were due to disease or accidents and did not even reflect a small fraction of the number of people who actually worked on this project.
Two stories, which originated in the media, claimed that this newfound discovery was just another hoax and that this mummy had a curse. It is an interesting twist that in this case a real archaeological find is first being called a hoax instead of a fake one being hailed as the missing link. In this case the news probably was a reaction of normal human skepticism, never before had such a well preserved mummy of this age been found. But with time the public accepted what the anthropologists knew, that these were the remains of a Neolithic man. And continuing with the stereotype of mummies the media then jumped onto the idea of curse as several people involved with the recovery of the Iceman had died. But once again this proved false; all the deaths the media pointed out were due to disease or accidents and did not even reflect a small fraction of the number of people who actually worked on this project.
The Fantastic
Ötzi is covered in over fifty tattoos. But these are not tattoos in the modern sense, as an entirely different method and purpose is used. To make these patterns of lines and crosses incisions are made in the skin and then rubbed with charcoal. This produces the black-blue markings on the skin. The locations of the tattoos were also unusual, they were put in locations that seemed to correspond to locations of great wear and pain. This has led researchers to believe that these tattoos were not for ornamentation but rather a form of pain relief. Interestingly enough, these locations also seem to correspond to Chinese acupuncture points. But Chinese acupuncture was not developed until 2,000 years after the time of Ötzi! So was acupuncture developed earlier than researchers had previously thought? Does this also change the location of origin for its development?
Ötzi’s death most likely results from the arrow wound in his shoulder. In addition to this wound, he also had fractured ribs, trauma to the back of the head and cuts to his hand and wrist. This evidence points towards a fight Ötzi was in shortly before his death. Since Ötzi apparently died of the arrow wound, he was probably bleeding out and struggling to find his way in the mountain. So did he fall into the gully where he was found, leading the final head trauma? Or did his attacker hit him in the head or push him into the gully leading the head trauma? Thus the circumstances of Ötzi’s death are still shrouded in mystery.
There another question that still has gone unanswered: why was Ötzi in the mountains when he died? Was he there before he was attacked or did he go into the mountain fleeing his attacker? This led into a discussion of Ötzi’s occupation. Maybe Ötzi was a frequent visitor in the mountains because he was a herder; the animals would often graze in the mountains. Yet no evidence of contact with animals was found. If Ötzi was fleeing he was not well prepared, the majority of his gear was still in stages of construction. This can be viewed two ways; if he was in flight then he might not have had time to prepare adequately as he needed to run immediately or he was not prepared because he did not anticipate going into the mountains and that is why his gear was not ready. No agreement has been reached concerning Ötzi’s occupation or why he was in the mountains on that fateful day he died.