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Even
more on the Curse of Ötzi (11/04/05) Molecular
archaeologist Tom Loy who discovered human blood on Ötzi's
weapons and clothing and was featured in a National Geographic documentary
about the Iceman in 2002 died at his home in
Australia a few weeks ago. Because he had worked on the Iceman and because
his death at first seemed suspicious (he died alone, and his body was not
discovered for a time), he is being reported as the seventh and latest
victim of the "The
curse of Ötzi." Family members have told
reporters that Loy suffered from a hereditary blood disease (that caused
blood clots to form), first diagnosed (cue the spooky music now) about 12
years ago...when Loy first began work on the Iceman. What's more, Loy was
writing a book about his work on Ötzi
at the time of his death...and (cue even more spooky music) his family
members cannot find the file on his computer. The curse of Ötzi strikes
again...!
Of course, anyone interested
in exploring the possibility of a cruse would have to ask some key
questions:
When this same type of
analysis was done for the "Curse of King Tut's Tomb," the theory
of the curse fell apart.
 Who
really found Ötzi? (10/6/05) Just
when everything seemed to be settled in the lawsuit surrounding Ötzi, two
people claim to have discovered the Iceman first.
Slovenian actress Magdalena
Mohar Jarc is one of people. She claims to have discovered the Iceman
first. Then, she wrote the court, she went to find someone to take a photo
of the discovery. The people she reportedly found to take the photo were
the Simons who stole the discovery from her.
The second new claimant is a
Swiss woman named Sandra Nemeth. She wrote the court that she found the
Iceman before the Simons and that she got into an argument with the couple
about the discovery. Then she spit on Ötzi to make sure that her DNA
would be found on the body, thus verifying her claim.
News reports
do not indicate why either Jarc or Nemeth waited so long to come forward.
Could it have something to do with the money involved? The Iceman brings
in big bucks, both to his museum and to the local economy of Bolzano. Stay
tuned for how this matter turns out.
Is
Ötzi decaying? (5/23/05) Dr.
Eduard Egarter Vigl has recently sounded the warning that the Iceman may
be in danger of decaying. A recent x-ray uncovered some gray spots on one
knee, a potential sign that gas is being produced beneath the surface.
That gas might indicate the presence of bacteria...which could threaten
the Iceman's second life as a mummy. The doctor also indicated that the
Iceman is losing weight from dehydration.
Dr. Egarter Vigl recommended a
needle biopsy on the spots to determine if bacteria was present, but Bruno
Hosp, president of South Tyrol provincial museums, responded that no such
testing needed to be done. A needle biopsy is considered an invasive test,
which (museum authorities decided four years ago) can no longer be done on
Ötzi.
Only more time will tell is Ötzi
is developing a preservation problem. Stay tuned for more details.
More
on the Curse of Ötzi (4/20/05) With
the death of scientist Konrad Spindler, the curse machine has gone into
action once again. Spindler led the scientific team that recovered and
examined the Iceman in Innsbruck, Austria. According to The
Guardian, the 66-year-old Spindler died from complications related to
multiple sclerosis. Since he had had contact with the ice mummy, though,
some journalists speculate that Ötzi had
something to do with his death. The last line of The Guardian
article reveals the real purpose behind the curse: as a result of this
speculation, "an increase in curious visitors" is expected to
visit the museum housing the Iceman's remains. The moral: curses make for
good publicity (and more money).
The
Curse of Ötzi (1/04/05) A
popular German magazine called Die Zeit recently published an
article entitled "Der
Fluch des Ötzi" or "The curse of Ötzi."
In it, the author details the death of five individuals associated somehow
with the Iceman since his discovery. First was Rainer Henn (a forensic
pathologist from the University of Innsbruck who placed the Iceman in a
body bag with his bare hands--you can read about the recovery of the body
in some detail in Fowler's Iceman;
a year later, he was killed in an automobile accident on his way to a
conference where he would discuss the results of his work on the Iceman).
The second victim is Kurt Fritz, who was said to have uncovered the
Iceman's face (NOTE: this is far from the official report according to
Fowler's book) only to fall to his death in a glacier. The third victim
was journalist Rainer Hölz, who filmed the recovery of Ötzi from the ice
for the ORF network; he died of a brain tumor. The fourth was Helmut Simon
who, along with his wife, discovered the Iceman's body. Finally, one of
the men who found Simon's frozen body, Dieter Warnecke, died of a
heart attack just hours after Simon's funeral. Add these deaths together
and some people get: The Revenge of the Shaman!
As with all curse stories,
however, the details are pretty sketchy and elusive. Since Ötzi was
discovered in 1991, it would not be unusual for 5 people associated with
his discovery or his discoverers to die (after all, they will be dying
eventually). For a very awkward Google-English translation of the Die
Zeit article, click here.
New
Theory Proposed about Ötzi's Death
(1/04/05) A
new theory about Ötzi's death has been
proposed by a scientist at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
Walter Leitner suggests that Ötzi may have been a shaman who had made
many enemies as he grew older; some may have decided to end his reign.
Leitner's theory is based on the idea that Ötzi held a high status in his
society. To read more about it, follow this
link and scroll down to Theory 6.
Helmut
Simon, "Brother of Ötzi," Found Dead in Austrian Alps
(10/23/04)The body
of Helmut Simon was discovered October 23rd, eight days after he had
failed to return from a mountain hike. Searchers were about ready to
suspend their work, when a hunter discovered Simon's body in a stream. He
apparently died after a 300 foot fall on Austria's Gaiskarkogel peak.
Searchers believe that he was hiking on an unmarked path when he fell.
Although some
papers have referred to Simon as "father of Ötzi," he seemed to
have considered himself the "brother of Ötzi," according to a
reporter from The Guardian. Several times each year, he and his
wife Erika visited Bolzano,
where the Iceman is exhibited. As his discoverer, he developed a kind of
brotherly connection to the Ötzi and referred to him as his 'brother.'
He also became
increasingly angry that he was not properly compensated for finding the
Iceman's body. Although he and his wife were legally declared Ötzi's
discoverer last year and therefore eligible to receive compensation of 25
percent of the Iceman's value (estimated to be millions of dollars in
museum admission fees alone), a legal proceeding to determine the amount
of the final settlement will not begin until November 5th this year. Here
are links to two newspaper accounts: BBC
(related the basic facts of the discovery) and The
Guardian (includes background information about Simon)
Search
for "Father of Ötzi"
Continues (10/21/04) Rescue teams hampered by heavy snow early
on continued their search for Helmut Simon, when temperatures rose well
above the freezing mark; some searchers had thought that the search effort
might be postponed until Spring 2005. One Italian newspaper account
reported "unconfirmed rumors" that Mr. Simon (called
"Father of Ötzi" by the reporter) had been seen "wandering
around" in the hours before sunset. Stay tuned for the latest
developments.
Is
Ötzi's Finder a Victim of the Ötzi Curse? (10/19/04) German
and Austrian newspapers have asked the inevitable, sensational question in
the last few days: is an Ötzi curse responsible for Helmut Simon's death?
Where this idea comes from is quite confusing, since no Ötzi curse has
even been said to exist. But newspapers have been known to invent such
ideas, as a means of boosting circulation (take a look at how they handled
the death of Lord
Carnarvon after the discovery of King Tut's tomb).
Keep in mind: Since the Simons found Ötzi
13 years ago, nothing remotely curse-like has happened. For example,
researchers and scientists who have worked on Ötzi have not been been
dropping like flies.
Keep in mind: Helmut Simon was an avid
hiker, but he may have made a human error when he went hiking by himself
last Friday. The mountain he was climbing was 7000 feet high, and the
temperatures were below freezing. Without shelter and without a hiking
companion, Simon may have been doomed, especially if he had had a heart
attack (as at least one newspaper speculates). But he was doomed by his
circumstances, not because he had found Ötzi. (On the other hand, it may
appear to be ironic that Simon could have died by freezing to death, but
irony also sells newspapers.) Here's a
link to one newspaper account that gives some further details.
Ötzi's
Finder Missing in Alps, Presumed Dead (10/18/04) Helmut Simon
who discovered the Iceman along with his wife Erika failed to return to
his hotel after he went hiking in the area around Garmskarkogel mountain
(near Salzburg, Austria). Authorities stated that the 67-year-old man had
gone hiking alone and had been expected to return in four hours. When he
turned up missing on Friday evening, authorities organized almost 100
people and a few mountain rescue dogs to search for him over the weekend.
When he was not found by Monday, the search was called off because of
deteriorating weather conditions. Since he was not carrying a tent (or any
type of temporary shelter) and since he did not seek refuge in the
shelters on the mountain, authorities doubt that he will be found alive. The
search was later resumed when the weather improved and temperatures
climbed above freezing.
Ötzi's
Finders Announce
Their Fee (12/26/03) Helmut and Erika Simon, the German couple
who found Ötzi, have finally announced the amount they are seeking:
$300,000USD. The Simons, who are represented by an Italian lawyer, hope to
reach an out-of-court settlement with authorities from the Alto Adige
province and the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.
Ötzi
Gets a New Deep Freeze (12/4/03) The Iceman has moved into a
new, colder home at the South
Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano,
Italy. During the first week of December, Ötzi has placed inside a
ice-tiled igloo guaranteed to keep him colder and more humidified.
This was necessary, according to the
Associated Press, because, since he first went on display at the museum,
"the Iceman has lost about five grams (.175 ounces) of water weight
every 24 hours, primarily because the humidity in his refrigerated cell
fluctuated from the lights and a viewing window." This required the
museum to treat the Iceman with artificial humidity every two weeks.
The new igloo removes the need for this
treatment. In it, his body will be kept at constant temperature (6.12°
C) and a constant humidity (99.42 percent vs. the old humidity level of
97.12). Even that small change in humidity level should help preserve the
Iceman better. In a press release, the museum stated: "In this way,
the microclimate of the cell is preserved, guaranteeing unvarying
conservation conditions."
[NOTE: The last time I visited the museum
in December 2002, Ötzi's body was covered with a kind of thick "goo."
I assumed that it was to help moisturize his very dry skin. Whether the
"goo" still remains on the body in the new igloo, I don't know.
Hopefully, the new igloo freezer will help preserve the body better.]
It's Official: German
Couple Declared Official
Ötzi's
Finders, May Be Entitled to Finders' Fee (11/3/03) Helmut
and Erika Simon, who discovered Ötzi's body in 1991, filed a
lawsuit in early 2003 asking to be declared the Iceman's official
discoverers (see 1/17/03 below). On November 3, 2003, the court decided in
their favor.
Now comes the legal wrangling, for, as
finders, they are entitled to a reward of 25 percent of the Iceman's
value. Of course, the question remains how the value of a 5,300-year-old
man can be determined. Will it he based on his value as a museum display?
It also remains to be seen if the South Tyrol (Italy) government will
appeal the decision. It has invested heavily in the display and
commercialization of Ötzi (at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in
Bolzano). Stay tuned for more.
Ötzi's
Birthplace Revealed by Scientific Testing (10/31/03) The latest
issue of Science (10/31/03) includes an article entitled
"Iceman's Origins and Wanderings." The article presents the
results when the minerals found in Ötzi's teeth, bones, and intestines
were compared to those found in soil and water samples taken from a wide
area of the Tyrolean Alps.
The findings suggest that Ötzi was most
likely born in Italian village of Feldthurns
(north of present-day Bolzano on the A22) but that he lived most of his
life in somewhat more northern valleys. They deduced this by comparing the
results of the minerals in his tooth enamel with that in his bones. They
also analyzed bits of mica found in his intestines (most likely from
grains ground by stone containing mica). The overall picture that emerged
was that the Iceman didn't roam more than 37 miles or so (about 60
kilometers) from his birthplace.
According to the BBC News Online, Dr
Alexander Halliday of the Department of Earth Sciences at RTH Zurich told
BBC News Online: "This is the first time that anyone has made a
comprehensive study of the migration of a human in the past. It looks like
he lived much of his life in a different valley from where he was
born."
Even
More Presumed Details of Ötzi's
Final Fight (8/13/03) Molecular biologist Thomas Loy (from the
University of Queensland's Institute of Molecular Bioscience in Brisbane)
who headed the DNA research team (see next entry below) has given many
interviews in the last few days expanding on his theory of what happened
to the Iceman. According to Loy, this is what happened to Ötzi (based on
conclusions he has drawn from his DNA research and his study of Ötzi's
weapons and tools):
1. The Fight
Loy concludes that Ötzi encountered
hunters from another area; they fought. "Rather than a simple
murder...it looks like [Ötzi] may have put himself into a boundary
situation where bloody battles often occur," Loy told Reuters
(reported on CNN.com). "Presumably he was in a combat situation for
between 24 to 48 hours before he died."
2. His Wounds
During the fight, Ötzi was shot in the
back with an arrow. He also received cuts on his hands, wrists, and rib
cage. Using his bow, he also shot "at least two different people
and retrieved his arrow, but then he shot at something else and missed,
shattering his arrow" (Reuters, CNN.com). As one of his last acts,
Loy concluded that the Iceman tried to fashion one arrow from two broken
ones.
3. His Companion(s)
Loy, who is an expert on prehistoric
tools and weapons, concluded that Ötzi could not have removed the arrow
from his back by himself. This suggests that he was traveling with
someone. Additional blood (not Ötzi's) found on his goatskin coat
indicated to Loy that Ötzi carried a wounded companion some distance.
What Loy doesn't answer (in his theory): Is this the same companion who
removed the arrow or an additional companion?
4. Type of Hunter
Loy studied the Iceman's arrows and
concluded that, since they were very lightweight and quite long, they
were more suited to higher elevations (above the tree line). They
wouldn't have worked well in a forest, because they could have been too
easily deflected.
5. His Death
Loy told NPR: "I suspect that as he
realized his life was ending, he stopped, put his gear [down], stacked
it neatly against a rock wall and lay down and expired."
DNA
Tests Suggest: Ötzi
Died After Violent Fight But Not Alone (8/10/03) Results of
recent DNA tests conducted by an Australian researcher have led to all
sorts of new speculation about Ötzi's final days. Like crime scene
investigators, molecular biologist Thomas Loy and his team (from the
University of Queensland's Institute of Molecular Bioscience in Brisbane)
looked for blood traces on the Iceman, his tools, and weapons. During
their investigation, they saw further signs of trauma to Ötzi's body,
including bruises (and cuts) on his abdomen (especially on his rib area),
which (they concluded) indicates that he may have been beaten. They found
DNA from four different people other than the Iceman, and they carried out
each test twice to be certain of their findings.
Dr. Loy told a reporter from USA Today,
"We have been working round the clock for the last three weeks to get
these results. It was very exciting when the blood samples came back
positive for human DNA from four separate individuals."
Specifically, they took samples from the
Iceman's antler-skinning tool, his stone-tipped knife, two of his arrows
(one broken), his axe handle, and his goatskin coat. Using techniques
devised especially for ancient DNA, the team found four different DNA
sequences: one on the knife blade, two different sequences on one arrow,
and a fourth on Ötzi's goatskin coat. (They also found a small tear in
the coat which may have been the entry point of the arrowhead that was
found embedded in his shoulder.)
They have interpreted these findings in
this way:
1. The two different blood samples on the
arrow may indicate that Ötzi killed two of his assailants and retrieved
the arrow to use again.
2. The blood on his coat may indicate
that Ötzi carried a wounded friend on his shoulder for some distance.
Dr. Loy told news.com.au: "On
the basis of all my examinations, [Ötzi's] specialty was hunting the high
alpine passes for ibex and possibly chamois which would have taken him
into boundary conditions where other people would have disputed the
territory. His gear was stacked up neatly. He didn't keel over, although
he was probably tired, exhausted and hurt like hell."
Stay tuned: The Discovery Channel is
involved in this latest research (it apparently paid for the research done
by Dr. Loy and his team). A one-hour documentary, Iceman: Hunt for a
Killer, will air in the U.S. on August 24. And on August 28th, the
documentary filmmaker will take a trip to the Ötzi's findspot in the Alps
to look for more bodies, now that the European heat wave this summer is
melting the glacier even more.
Confirmed:
Ötzi
Was an Early Italian (7/25/03) One of the most important
political questions about Ötzi
is: who owns him. Austria and Italy fought a bitter battle over custody,
resolved when authorities confirmed that his findspot was located in
Italy. That meant Italy was allowed to claim the Iceman, build a large
modern museum to exhibit him, and reap substantial financial rewards. But
the issue wasn't truly settled, because many people wondered where Ötzi
came from. Was he a pre-Austrian (on his way to what is now Italy) or a
pre-Italian (on his way to the area that has become Austria)? Now we know,
thanks to research by Dr. Wolfgang Mueller from the Research School of
Earth Sciences at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Dr. Mueller studied the mineral composition
of Ötzi's dental enamel and and one leg bone. He then compared this
analysis to isotopes found in the environment north and south of Ötzi's
findspot.
"From the enamel it is possible
to reconstruct the composition of the water Ötzi drank and get clues
about the earth where his food was grown," Dr Mueller said.
"As a result we now know Ötzi came from near to where he was found
from the Eisack Valley [in the South Tyrol part of Italy]. He spent his
childhood there. And he spent his adulthood in Lower Vinschgau [also in
the Italian Tyrol]."
Translation: Ötzi lived his life in the
area south of the findspot, making him a very, very early Italian. Dr.
Mueller also concluded that Ötzi was not a world traveller (he hadn't
hiked all over Europe) and hadn't spent extensive time at higher
elevations.
The
Iceman's Wounded Hand (2/2003) The February
2003 issue of the Smithsonian contains an article by Bob Cullen
summarizing what has been discovered about the Iceman. It is worth
reading as a general summary of the findings, but most important is the
information it contains about a dagger found near Ötzi.
A filmmaker working on a documentary for
the Discovery Channel interviewed one of the men who helped recover the
Iceman's body and learned that Ötzi may have been holding a dagger in his
hand when he was discovered. Dr. Egarter Vigl re-examined the Iceman's
right hand in June 2002 and "found a small cut running from the palm
of the right hand, just below the index finger, over to the top side of
the hand" (Smithsonian). About 1.5 inches long and 6 mm.
deep, the cut was discolored along the edges, indicating that the injury
happened when the Iceman was alive. Dr. Egarter told author Cullen,
"I think that the wound was very painful. Two fingers are nearly
immobilized." X-rays also revealed two cuts on the underlying bones
(of the palm and the wrist).
Additional study of the Iceman's body would
help clarify questions surrounding the cause of death: If the officials at
the South Tyrol Museum would grant permission, the arrowhead could be
removed and an endoscopy performed to determine if any nerves or blood
vessels were severed.
Law
Suit Filed for Finders Fee (1/17/03) Helmut
and Erika Simon, who discovered Ötzi's body in 1991, have asked a
Bolzano, Italy, court to recognize their role in the Iceman's discovery
and declare them the "official discoverers" of the Iceman. If
this is accomplished, the Simons would then be entitled to a finders' fee.
According to Bruce Johnston in the Calgary
Herald, their lawyer (Rudolf Ramirez) said: "My
clients are simple, honest folk, lovers of nature, for whom the discovery
was probably the most eventful moment of their lives."
He continued that his clients would be content "if
only a plaque were to go up with their names."
However, there is speculation that the
Simons seek more than a monument, perhaps as much as a 6-figure pay day.
Consider these facts:
1) Ötzi earns approximately 2.5 million
euros a year (about the same in US dollars) in admission fees alone at
the South Tyrol Museum in Bolzano (and more in photo rights).
2) According to Brenda Fowler in her book
Iceman,
the Simons began to capitalize on their discovery shortly after it
occurred. Fowler writes:
"They had been home less than a
week when an Innsbruck lawyer called to inform them that he believed
they might have some claim to the corpse. At first, the idea struck them
as absurd. It was a treasure that belonged to the all humanity, and they
felt honored to have discovered him. Then again, they thought they
should at least inquire. But first they hired another lawyer to deal
with the Innsbruck lawyer (p. 56)."
Will the Simons succeed in their goal to
become "official discoverers?" Stay tuned.
Ötzi's
Last Meal (9/17/02): Scientists
at the University of Camerino in Italy have published the results of their
DNA analysis of the contents of Otzi's intestines:
>Ötzi first ate the meat of an ibex
(wild goat) along with some grains (and pollen).
>The pollen found in his intestines
indicates that he hiked through "a coniferous forest at
mid-elevation." This is most likely the site where he ate his
ibex meal.
>At a higher altitude he ate another
meal: red deer and more grain. (For information about the final route
that Ötzi took, follow
this link.)
Results of the study were published in The
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Results of Ötzi's Colon
Study (10/23/01): Researchers at
the University of Glasgow have released results of their study of the
Iceman's colon: they found whipworm parasite eggs. This means that Ötzi
had a fairly severe intestinal disorder which would have caused diarrhea
or possibly dysentery. Barley, meat, and a cereal grain known as einkorn
were also found; these would have comprised his last meal or meals.
Perhaps the most important finding was
pollen, ingested when he drank water from local streams. These pollens
indicate that he may well have died in late spring or even early summer,
not in the fall (as some researchers had suspected).
Scientists To Retrace Ötzi's
Route in Replicas of his Shoes (9/3/01): Researchers
at Tomas Bata University in the Czech Republic are undertaking a study of
the Iceman's footwear.
They have constructed three pairs of animal
skin shoes that replicate those worn by Ötzi. His shoes were made of
various animal skins: bearskin soles, deerskin insteps, and chamois/cow/
calf/lindenbark uppers. Dried grass was also stuffed inside the shoes to
keep his feet warm.
Three members of the research team will
visit an area near Ötzi's discovery site, put on the replicas, and take a
two-hour hike. The shoes will be removed and studied. Afterwards,
researchers intend to donate them to an unnamed museum.
The task of making replicas of his shoes
was not easy. Besides analyzing the various materials used to construct
the original shoes, researchers had to determine how the Iceman (or his
shoemaker) cut and tanned the skins. They also wondered whether the dried
grass still grew in the region. Analysis revealed that fats from animal
brains and livers were used to make the tanning solution, that a flint
rock was used to cut the skins, and that the same grass still grows. These
details were used in constructing the replicas.
One question worth asking: are these the
oldest pair of shoes from history ever found? The answer may surprise you:
the oldest pair of shoes is a pair of 10,000-year-old slippers discovered
in Oregon.
Update on Cause of Ötzi's
Death (8/7/01): At this point, here
is a summary of what happened to the Iceman, based on the new findings:
The fatal wound.
A flint arrow hit the Iceman in the back and ripped upwards through the
shoulder blade and stopped within an inch of the left lung. It is still
unclear if the arrow hit an artery or a vein; in either case, the
resulting wound would have been fatal either from bleeding (an artery)
or bacterial infection (vein). Brenda Fowler (in the Times
article) quotes Dr. Egarter Vigl, the chief pathologist at the General
Regional Hospital in Bolzano, for this information.
The discovery of
the fatal wound. Although the Iceman's body was discovered in
September 1991 and studied over the years, it was not until June 28,
2001 that the fatal arrowhead was found in Ötzi's body. That day, Dr.
Paul Gostner, chief radiologist at the Bolzano hospital, examined new
x-rays of the Iceman that revealed the stunning evidence missed in
earlier studies. That same night, Dr. Gostner and Dr. Vigl visited Ötzi
at the museum. Fowler relates this part of the dramatic story in the Times'
article:
"Using the warmth of their
hands, the doctors thawed the wound and inserted a probe, confirming
that there was a wound that had not had time to heal. The wooden arrow
shaft, which would have been attached to the arrowhead with five
sinews and birch tar is gone, and Dr. Egarter Vigl and Dr. Gostner
speculated that the man had pulled it out, doing even more internal
damage. Neither man believes the Iceman could have injured himself by
falling on an arrow. Dr. Egarter Vigl said he hoped to explore the
wound surgically and perhaps remove the arrowhead to determine how
much damage it caused."
Missing
Evidence. One reason for the latest radiography study was to
examine the three broken ribs that earlier researchers had reported.
However, the new x-rays do not reveal these breaks. This is also a
strange and fascinating development in the story of Ötzi, since much
was made of these broken ribs (they led to a great deal of speculation
about the Iceman's final days, especially in Konrad Spindler's vivid
account).
The new x-rays also call into the
question much of the initial work (at least the radiography) that was
done on Ötzi's body. How could three ribs appear broken in initial
studies and unbroken in the recent study? Fowler reports that Dr. Dieter
zur Nedden, who led the initial study, was not allowed to work on the
body out of the freezer for longer than 30 minutes at a time and that
the number of x-rays had been restricted. This may have led to some
hasty work.
Speculation
about his Death. The arrowhead and the lack of broken ribs
will change much that is "known" about Ötzi and his last day
of life. Researchers have speculated many things about the cause of Ötzi's
death--the arrowhead changes almost everything that has been written. Read
the various theories here.
New York Times Publishes
Ötzi Update (8/7/01): Author
Brenda Fowler (The
Iceman) has written an Ötzi update for the New York Times
and clarifies a number of points about the fatal arrowhead. The article is
accompanied by three black and white photos. This is the summary to read:
it is well-written, concise, and clear. Fowler interviews all of the main
researchers involved with the new discovery and adds some new theories
about the Iceman's death.
Ötzi Had Fleas
(8/5/01): Ötzi the Iceman had
fleas, or so says scientist Konrad Spindler, in an interview with the
Austrian Press Agency. According to Spindler, recent testing has revealed
the presence of two fleas in the Iceman's clothing. Spindler said that
fleas have previously been traced back only to the 5th or 6th Century B.C.
Fatal Arrowhead Found in
Ötzi (7/25/01): Ötzi the Iceman
has died another death, this time solving a major mystery about him.
A recent computerized tomography (CT)
procedure on the body revealed a flint arrowhead embedded on the left side
of his chest. The CT-scan also revealed the damage that the arrow had
done: shot from below, it ripped through nerves and major blood vessels
and shattered his left shoulder blade. The injury would have paralyzed his
left arm and caused a great deal of internal bleeding. The scientists
suspect that he would have lived only a few hours with this untreated
wound.
According to Dr. Susanna (head of the South
Tyrol Museum), everything "that has been published over the past
seven or eight years--that he died because of broken ribs, that he died
under the snow, or that he was exhausted and laid down and fell asleep and
froze to death--are wrong. Maybe there was a combat, maybe he was in a
battle. There is a whole series of new implications. The story needs to be
rewritten."
Did scientists need seven years to uncover
the cause of Ötzi's death? Apparently so (they needed time to jockey for
position and offer their own tantalizing theories, as Brenda Fowler
reports in her
excellent book on the Iceman). X-rays taken seven years ago revealed
something in the Iceman's left chest, but no one pursued the matter.
Of course, even this "final
conclusion" leaves many questions but one in particular: could the
Iceman have fallen on an arrow or was he deliberately shot? Tracing the
trajectory of the arrow inside the body does not show exactly and clearly
what caused the arrow to enter his body.
 Ötzi
Thawed for Further Testing (9/25/00): Ötzi the Ice Man wasn't
an Iceman for about 16 hours on September 25, 2000.
On that day, scientists
removed him from his special cold storage chamber (kept at a constant 21.2
degrees Fahrenheit) at his
museum home in Bolzano, Italy, and allowed his body to warm up to
35.6 degrees. Then a team of scientists were permitted to take some skin
and tissue samples for the first time since shortly after Ötzi was
discovered in 1991.
Professor Peter Vanezis, a
forensic scientist from Glasgow, Scotland, was a member of the team. He is
trying to help establish the exact cause of the Iceman's death. It has
been presumed that Ötzi died when he was caught in a sudden snowstorm,
though others have speculated that he died of some violent trauma (see the
Ötzi page for more information and also the
review of Brenda Fowler's excellent book on the subject). But
Vanezis will look at iron deposits in the samples to see where the
Iceman's blood was concentrated--this will show whether he was lying face
down or face up. Of course, Vanezis will only be able to supply further
hypotheses using the results of the tests...so it is unlikely that the
precise cause of death will ever be known. Perhaps, though, a more
reasoned guess may be made.
Other team members will study
his DNA: one group of scientists from Rome will compare Ötzi's DNA to the
DNA from other prehistoric remains from the area in order to create a gene
bank. and a scientist from the University of Camerino (Franco Rollo) will
study the DNA of microorganisms found in Ötzi's intestines. Rollo hopes
to learn more about the food that Ötzi ate...as well as the process of
natural mummification (his microorganisms will be compared to those found
in a naturally-made Peruvian mummy). RESULTS: see (9/17/02)
above.
Finally, another team member (Wolfgang
Muller) took samples of Ötzi's tooth enamel, which will help determine
where the Iceman was raised as a child. The teeth, you see, contain
minerals that came from food that came from the soil. By checking for the
minerals in Ötzi's teeth, results can be compared to various soil types
in the area to determine his place of early residence (as his teeth were
developing). RESULTS: see (7/25/03)
above.
All in all, September 25, 2000
may be an important date in Ötzi's history. Results will not be
known for at least six months, however. And according to one of the
scientists, it is hoped that Ötzi's body will be kept in the freezer for
another 20-30 years when science may have developed even better
tests to analyze the Iceman's life and death.
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