Otzi the 5,000-Year-Old Frozen Mummy of Bolzano
Copper Age Man Found in Glacier Gives Clues to Prehistoric Life
Oct 21, 2009
In Italy’s northeast, in the part of the Sud Tirol known as the Val Venosta (Vinschgau in its German version) some of the earliest European cultures were nurtured. About 3,300 BC one of their members ventured into the Alps and was murdered. This was in the Copper Age, when the smelting of metal was new and copper tools were a sign of wealth.
A Glacier Yields Up a Body
The murdered man fell and was covered by snow, then ice, and remained hidden until 1991 when he was found by hikers. His body, clothing and tools have provided a unique and breathtaking glimpse into prehistoric society and life. Now named Ötzi, and sometimes “Frozen Fritz” by the less respectful, he and all of his gear are housed in the South Tirol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano Italy.
A 5,300 Year Old Murder Solved
Since the discovery of the body, it has been subjected to intense study, but it was not until July of 2001 that the cause of death was discovered. Lodged deep in his back was an arrowhead. It had caused massive bleeding and death within a short time of its entry. Additionally, the body revealed a deep cut on the right hand and cranial bleeding and a skull fracture. High on this frozen mountain the man had been accosted and killed, and the arrow indicates it was probably one of his own people who did it.
He was old by the standards of the time, probably about 46, and his body showed the wear of his age. His teeth were worn from eating grains ground in stone mortars. His joints showed damage from stress and more than 50 tattoos on his body, all in stress points consistent with present-day acupuncture points, show the use of tattoos for therapeutic uses. He also suffered from intestinal cancer and parasites.
World's Only Preserved Iron Age Clothing and Gear
His remarkably well-preserved gear was found with him, and included his goat hide coat and goat skin loincloth. His bearskin cap was virtually intact and substantial parts of his goatskin leggings remained. His leggings and shoes are the oldest known on earth. The shoes were an inner grass netting holding hay with a bearskin sole and upper to protect his feet from cold. His axe, made from a tree trunk and root joint, held a copper blade and he had a flint dagger, bow and arrows.
Pollens and materials from his intestines indicate that he had come from what is now known as the Val Venosta (Vinschgau) region of the South Tirol within 12 hours of his death and that he was most probably from a cultural group known as Tamino-Carasso-Isera 5.
South Tirol Rich with Prehistoric Art and Culture
Elsewhere in the South Tirol there are many signs of the existence of these cultures, most notably the plethora of rock carvings and settlement sites such as those at Capo di Ponte. But the discovery of Ötzi was the first to include intact tools, clothing and a mummy from that period. Animals hunted at the time included red deer, roe deer, chamois, ibex, fox, marmot, badgers and weasels shown on the carvings at Capo di Ponte.
Bolzano's South Tirol Museum of Archaeology
The South Tirol Museum of Archaeology is in Bolzano, not far from Italy’s northern border, in the Dolomite mountains. The body of Ötzi is visible through a small glass window in its refrigerated case, while the carefully preserved artifacts of his clothing and tools are displayed in a well designed setting, with films and information panels (in English) on his discovery, the studies done on him and what is known about his life. Other floors of the museum are devoted to displays on mummies from all parts of the world.
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