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CSI: Otzi the Ice Man

Death (murder?) in the Tyrolean Alps

Exhibit #1

Location and general view of the


discovery site. The body was found at an
elevation of 11,000ft. Approximately
5000ft from the valley floor.

Exhibit #2

The Icemans survival kit: a flint stone


knife and a copper ax.

Exhibit #3

Arrow heads of flint stone, unfinished


arrows, and a deerskin quiver.

Exhibit #5

Exhibit #4
The body was found
lying face down on a
rock.

Exhibit: #5

An arrowhead was found embedded


in his left shoulder.

There was a cut in the palm of his


right hand and into two of his
fingers, damaging the tendons. It
was inferred that he was holding a
blade.

Exhibit #6: Medical Evidence

At the time of death he was forty-six (46) years old

He was 52 tall and weighed 110 pounds

tzi would have worn a mens size 5 shoe


His body arms and chest were crisscrossed with old scars
He had at one time broken his nose
He had three ribs that had been recently broken, meaning at the time of his death tzi would have been in a great
deal of pain
tzi had a severely degenerated left knee, hip and ankle which would have made walking both painful and
difficult
X-rays indicated tzi had a bad back probably caused by the degeneration of spinal disks
He had smoker lung
Analysis of pollen, dust grains and the isotopic composition of his tooth enamel indicates that he spent his
childhood near the present village of Feldthurns, north of Bolzano, but later went to live in valleys about thirty
miles further north
He was missing five upper incisors
Deep furrows on his finger nails showed signs of chronic illness and stress to his immune system
tzi had severe plaque buildup in his arteries and was suffering from coronary heart disease
He had man-made scars cut in straight lines around his shoulders, ankles and knees
Pollen in the first meal showed that it had been consumed in a mid-altitude pine forest, and other pollens
indicated the presence of wheat which must have been planted crops from the valley below
Diatoms (ancient skeletons of algae) in tzi's intestines identified the exact river he had drunk from eight hours
before his death
Analysis of tzi's intestinal contents showed two meals (the last one consumed about eight hours before his
death), one of mountain goat meat (Ibex), the other of red deer and baked herb bread

Exhibit #7
This axe was made of
wood and copper. The
craftsman was highly
skilled. Someone
carrying this axe would
have had high
importance in a society.
The axe was right next
to Otzi when he was
found.

Exhibit #8
Otzi had over sixty tattoos made of fire
soot then scratched under the skin. Most
of tzis tattoos are located on parts of
his body that must have caused him pain
during his lifetime due to degeneration
or disease.

Exhibit # 9: Biological
evidence

Three grains of Ostrya


carpinifolia (Hophornbeam)
pollen magnified 1600x.

Wheat spiklets derived from


Einkorn grain, stuck to the
Iceman's clothing. The same
material was found in the
icemans intestine indicating
that he had eaten a hard bread
shortly before his death. The
plant material came from an
agricultural area.

The majority of the pollen came from the hop


hornbeam tree, which grows in a warm
environment. The hop hornbeam tree blooms
between March and June, and because the
sperm inside the pollen grain, which normally
decays after a short exposure to air or water,
was still intact, it had to have been absorbed
relatively soon after its release from the tree.
The nearest stands of that tree could have
grown to the south of the Hauslabjoch, at
least five or six hours away by foot. The high
valleys to the north are just too cold to
sustain it.

Exhibit #10
Otzi had the
back of his skull
just above his
neck fractured.
There is
evidence that
there was brain
hemorrhaging
due to this
fracture.

Exhibit #11

tzi's clothes were sophisticated.

He wore:
cloak made of woven grass and a coat
a belt, a pair of leggings
a loincloth made of leather of different
skins.
He also wore a bearskin cap with a
leather chin strap.
Shoes made of bearskin for the soles,
deer hide for the top panels, and a
netting made of tree bark. Soft grass
went around the foot and in the shoe
and functioned like modern socks.

CSI: Report
Names_______________________
Who was Otzi?
(Daily Life,
Evidence From Exhibits
Occupation, etc.)

What was Otzi doing high up in the


Mountains?

Evidence From Exhibits

How did Otzi die?

Evidence From Exhibits

What are 10 things we can learn about the people


living in the European Alps during the Mesolithic
Period?
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