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Ötzi, Also Known as the Iceman, is a Naturally Mummified Human Who Lived Between 3350 and 3105 BC... discovered in 1991 by German tourists in the Ötztal Alps (hence earning the moniker "Ötzi"). His remains stand as the earliest naturally mummified human discovered in Europe, providing unique insights into the lives of Chalcolithic (Copper Age) communities on the continent.In 2001, X-rays and a CT scan revealed that Ötzi had an arrowhead lodged in his left shoulder, prompting the suggestion that Ötzi was murdered and died of blood loss and from other wounds. However, the nature of his life and the...

Ötzi the ice mummy is unique, but the conditions that preserved his body are not, according to a new study. This means chances are fairly high that more mummies melt out of the ice in the future.The story starts in September 1991, when a German couple discovered the body of a man protruding from the ice in the Ötztal Alps, on the border between Austria and Italy.The man turned out to be 5300 years old. His body was exceptionally well preserved.Blood on his shoulderAn arrow and traces of blood were found on the man's left shoulder, as well as a...

Mountainer Reinhold Messner, right, and colleague inspect the mummified remains of Ötzi the Iceman following his discovery in 1991. The famed mummy died from an arrow to the back on a high Alpine mountain pass 5,300 years ago. Now researchers are tracing his unusual movements right before his murder.A wounded—and possibly wanted—man, Ötzi the Iceman spent his final days on the move high up in the Alps until he was felled with an arrow to the back. About 5,300 years later, archaeologists are still unraveling the mystery of his death. Now, a new analysis of mossy plant remains from the...

All mines need regular reinforcement against collapse, and Hallstatt, the world's oldest salt mine perched in the Austrian Alps, is no exception. But Hallstatt isn't like other mines. Exploited for 7,000 years, the mine has yielded not only a steady supply of salt but also archaeological discoveries attesting to the existence of a rich civilisation dating back to the early part of the first millennium BC. So far less than two percent of the prehistoric tunnel network is thought to have been explored, with the new round of reinforcement work, which began this month, protecting the dig's achievements, according to...

Talk about a paleo diet. Scientists have uncovered the last meal of a frozen hunter who died 5,300 years ago in the Alps. The stomach contents of the corpse, widely known as Oetzi the Iceman, offer a snapshot of what ancient Europeans ate more than five millennia ago, researchers said. On the menu, described Thursday in the journal Current Biology, were the fat and meat of a wild goat, meat of a red deer and whole wheat seeds, which Oetzi ate shortly before his death. Traces of fern leaves and spores were also discovered in Oetzi's stomach. Scientists think he...

Lady of Bietikow lived during the Neolithic period. All that is left of the woman who died more than 5,000 years ago are bones and some clothing fragments, but researchers have still managed to piece together some details about her life. By learning more about the life of Lady of Bietikow, as she has been named, we gain information about what life was like in those days. Her remains were found near a village of the same name in northeastern Germany's Uckermark region during excavation works for wind turbines. Who Was The The Mysterious Lady Of Bietikow And What Had...

Geneticists have scanned the genomes of 173 Armenians from Armenia and Lebanon and compared them with those of 78 other populations from around the world. They found that the Armenians are a mix of ancient populations whose descendants now live in Sardinia, Central Asia and several other regions... Armenians share 29 percent of their DNA ancestry with Otzi, a man whose 5,300-year-old mummy emerged in 1991 from a melting Alpine glacier. Other genetically isolated populations of the Near East, like Cypriots, Sephardic Jews and Lebanese Christians, also share a lot of ancestry with the Iceman, whereas other Near Easterners, like...

Ötzi the Iceman is a remarkable 5,300-year-old human specimen found frozen in ice approximately 3,200 meters above sea level in the Italian Alps. He was frozen alongside his clothing and gear as well as an abundant assemblage of plants and fungi. In this study, Dickson and colleagues aimed to identify the mosses and liverworts preserved alongside the Iceman. Today, 23 bryophyte species live the area near where Ötzi was found, but inside the ice the researchers identified thousands of preserved bryophyte fragments representing at least 75 species. It is the only site of such high altitude with bryophytes preserved over...

A 3,300-year-old treasure trove of gold found in northern Germany has stumped German archeologists. One theory suggests that traders transported it thousands of miles from a mine in Central Asia, but other experts are skeptical. Archeologists in Germany have an unlikely new hero: former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. They have nothing but praise for the cigar-smoking veteran Social Democratic politician. Why? Because it was Schröder who, together with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, pushed through a plan to pump Russian natural gas to Western Europe. For that purpose, an embankment 440 kilometers (275 miles) long and up to 30 meters (100 feet)...

Broken arrows and worn stone gear speak to the plight of the ancient alpine hunter. Before his violent death 5,300 years ago, the man known as Ötzi the Iceman was carrying all the essentials, from bark storage containers to an axe. Now, an analysis suggests that many of his stone tools were old and worn, hinting at the travails of the iceman's final hours. Ursula Wierer at the provincial Department of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape in Florence, Italy, and her colleagues examined artefacts found in the Alps near Ötzi's mummified remains. His stone knife was well worn and his...

Three decades worth of research have yielded intimate details of Ötzi's life from his age, height and weight to manner of death -- felled by an arrow to the left shoulder sometime during early summer... Now, a team of European researchers has analyzed the tattoos scattered across Ötzi's body, as well as the various herbs and medicines found alongside his remains, to paint a clearer picture of the Iceman's community and its ancient medical practices, reports Joshua Rapp Learn for Science magazine... Previous studies of the Iceman's tattoos have hypothesized that the lines and crosses etched into his skin offered...

A scientist has finally confirmed with 3D models that legendary ice man Otzi was indeed killed 5,300 years ago by an arrow. Otzi, a 5,300-year-old mummified man, was found in 1991 in a glacier in the Alps between what is now Austria and Italy. Since the discovery, Otzi has been examined by multiple teams of scientists, with new discoveries coming to light each time. Now an expert claims it was the arrow that delivered the fatal blow, severing the nerve to his shoulder and hitting his major vessels. Since his discovery on 19 December 1991 by German hikers, Ó¦tzi has...

Otzi the legendary “Iceman” wasn't alone when he was mummified on a glacier 5,300 years ago. With him were gut microbes known to cause some serious tummy trouble. These bacteria, Helicobacter pylori, are providing fresh evidence about Otzi's diet and poor health in the days leading up to his murder. Intriguingly, they could also help scientists better understand who his people were and how they came to live in the region. ... Discovered in the 1990s, Otzi lived in what are today the Eastern Italian Alps, where he was naturally mummified by ice after his violent death. The body is...

By using an innovative non-invasive photographic technique, European researchers have managed to locate and map the extensive set of tattoos on the exquisitely preserved remains of Ötzi the Iceman. Remarkably, they even found a previously unknown tattoo on his ribcage. Ötzi's frozen remains were discovered by two German tourists in the Ötzal Alps on the border between Austria and Italy in 1991. He lived around 3,300 BCE and represents Europe's oldest natural human mummy. Because he was so well preserved in ice, he has provided anthropologists with a slew of information about Copper Age (or Chalcolithic) humans. ... It's worth...

A new study has used advanced imaging techniques to identify previously unknown tattoos on the ribcage of the 5300-year old man known as Ötzi, bringing his total number of tattoos to 61... Thanks to more than two decades of analysis, scientists arguably know more about Ötzi's health and final days than those of any other ancient human. He died at around 45 years of age after being shot in the back with a stone-tipped arrow and bludgeoned. In the 12 hours preceding his death he climbed into the mountains from an Italian valley, and ate a last meal consisting of...

<p>The 5,300-year-old "Iceman" discovered in 1991 in the Italian Alps was killed by one or more assailants in a fight that lasted at least two days, shows evidence obtained by sophisticated DNA testing and old-fashioned detective work.</p> <p>Scientists initially presumed that the Stone Age Iceman, nicknamed Otzi, was caught in a storm and froze to death. But a new team said Monday that Otzi's case instead has become the world's oldest, and coldest, murder case.</p>

Italy's prehistoric Iceman was murdered by an arrow in the back, despite the efforts of a companion to save him. But although he apparently died fleeing from a skirmish, he did not give up without a fight. He bore traces of the blood of four other men on his weapons and clothes, three of whom he had killed or wounded. These are among the startling findings of Dr Tom Loy of Queensland University in Brisbane, Australia, published this week after analysis of blood traces found on the 5,300-year- old mummy, which was dug out of the Alpine ice 12 years...

ROME (Reuters) - A prehistoric Italian iceman nicknamed "Otzi" may have been shot in the back with an arrow, but he only died after prolonged combat with his foes, new DNA evidence has shown. Reuters Photo Missed Tech Tuesday? Check out the powerful new PDA crop, plus the best buys for any budget The 5,000-year-old corpse, dug out of a glacier in northern Italy more than a decade ago, had traces of blood from four different people on his clothes and weapons, molecular archeologist Tom Loy said Wednesday. He also had "defensive cut wounds" on his hands, wrists and rib...

WASHINGTON - The mysterious 5,200-year-old iceman found in an Alpine glacier was born in a valley in what is now northern Italy and didn't travel far from home, an international team of researchers has concluded. Indeed, the iceman, known as Oetzi, probably spent his whole life within about 37 miles of the spot near the Italy-Austria border where he was found frozen, according to the team led by Wolfgang Mueller of the Australian National University in Canberra. Their findings are being reported Friday in the journal Science. A group of hikers discovered Oetzi's well-preserved body in 1991; since then, he...

Iceman's bones lead scientists to his home turf By Lucy Beaumont November 1, 2003 Printer friendly version Print this article Email to a friend Email to a friend The Iceman lived and died in a small area of northern Italy, scientists have deduced from analysis of his tooth enamel and bone samples. The home turf of a man who died 5200 years ago has been located by a team of scientists, including Australians, who analysed his teeth, bones and intestines. Examination of the famed "Iceman", whose frozen remains were found in a glacier on the Italian-Austrian border in 1991, has...