Ötzi the Iceman (c. -3345 to -3300) lived at the end of the Stone Age in Europe. We know about him because we found his freeze-dried body high in the Italian Alps in 1991. It was so well preserved that we even know what he had for dinner – over 5,000 years ago!
The most surprising thing about him is that he had a copper axe – a thousand years before anyone in that part of the world was known to have one. It seems he even made it himself – he had copper and arsenic in his hair, like a coppersmith.
He had at least 61 tattoos. Most are small and near acupuncture points – 2,000 years before acupuncture appeared in China.
He had hardened arteries at age 45, like many middle-aged men in our time, despite his active lifestyle and thoroughly organic diet.
He had brown eyes and dark wavy hair. The wear and tear on his body was like that of a hunter or shepherd, not a farmer.
Unlike most present-day Europeans:
- He was small for a man: 1.60m (5 foot 2) and 50kg (110 pounds).
- He was lactose intolerant.
- He had more Neanderthal genes: 5.5% instead of like 3.5%, according to John Hawks.
Genetically, he is closest to the people of the Italian island of Sardinia.
- His Y-DNA from his father belongs to haplogroup G, like Stalin, Richard III of England and Newt Minow of the FCC. All four have the same male ancestor who lived some 30,000 years ago in South West Asia. Haplogroup G was very common in Europe from -5000 to -3000, when it had been brought by a wave of South West Asian farmers. It is now mainly found in mountains and on islands, like Sardinia and the Caucasus: another wave of farmers came through after -3000, possibly the Indo-Europeans.
- His mitochondrial DNA from his mother belongs to haplogroup K, like 6% of present-day Europeans, especially those who live near the Mediterranean.
- He has at least 19 living relatives in Austria – they have the same rare genetic mutation he does.
His last meal featured:
- einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) in the form of unleavened bread,
- blackthorn berries (sloes, Prunus spinosa),
- wild goat (chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra),
- red deer (Cervus elaphus).
Technology: mostly stone tools, some copper. His culture grew wheat and barley, raised goats, sheep and cows, and hunted deer and wild goats with bows and arrows. It knew the use of the different kinds of wood, stone and plants. It probably had shoemakers: his shoe was expertly made. Dried fungus and apparently acupuncture were used in medicine.
His health: he not only had hardened arteries, but joint pain, Lyme disease and whipworm (Trichuria trichuria). From his fingernails we can tell that two months before he died he was sick for two weeks.
His death: He was shot in the back (an arrowhead was found deep in his back where it would have caused him to bleed to death) and there was a deadly blow to his head. It seems it was revenge: his arrows had the blood of two other people on them.
Thanks to teddy1975 for inspiring this post.
– Abagond, 2015.
Sources: Mainly TestTube News, PBS, National Geographic, Discover, Wikipedia, South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, John Hawks.
See also:
- human history: the past 6,000 years
- Neanderthals
- The Proto-Indo-Europeans
- mitochondrial DNA
- Mitochondrial Helena – of haplogroup H, not K, like Otzi, but another ancient European
- King Tut
- Denisovans
574
Thank you for this post! When the story came out I was just starting college and it drew me in to the worlds of anthropology, sociology and forensics. I knew I didn’t have the stomach for A&P, so forensic anthropology wasn’t going to be my career, but it led me down the path which eventually arrived at Social and Cultural History.
I am still fascinated by this incredible window to the world 5,000 years ago. He reminds us that there is not so much distance between us all, anthropologically speaking. And that, I believe, is key to cultural understanding.
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Wow, Abagond. That’s very interesting! KEEP IT UP!!
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Incredible find…. The most intriguing blog you ever posted. Thank you
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A copper axe? This guy sounds like he was definitely misdated.
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This is interesting
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He met a gruesome demise it seems. Shot in the back with an arrow and a blow to the head.
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@ Mary Burrell
Seems that ish was personal.
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@ Ankhesen
What they do!?
They smile in your face
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
They smile in your face
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
All you fellows who have someone
And you really care, yeah, yeah
Then it’s all of you fellows
Who better beware, yeah yeah
Somebody’s out to get your lady
A few of your buddies they sure look shady
Blades are long, clenched tight in their fist
Aimin’ straight at your back
And I don’t think they’ll miss!!
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@Ankhesen Mie’: Good to read you Queen.
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Perhaps he was killed in a skirmish?
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Give this unearthed (un-iced) iceman a clean shave and a haircut and he’ll look just like this guy:
http://pictures.thaindian.com/d/761-1/82213891.jpg LMAO!!
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Click on the above link, you guys.
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..Interesting post, Abagond! Though I must say that I am bit skeptical about the use of acupuncture for this particular culture at the time..given the history of European whitewashing and credit stealing from inventions of other cultures for such a long time, I’m not so quick to believe that one.
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@ Mz.Nikita
Acupuncture and Copper Smelting now Northern European inventions? I really think not. Dollars to donuts this guy is misdated. People tend to think that dating ancient remains is like magic—just wave some gizmo around and out comes the incontrovertible age. When it is much more an art of detective work and intelligent guesses. Contamination of many kinds can make dating remains or artifacts quite tricky. I’ll wait to see this guy’s age corrected in the years to come.
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@King C14 dating. Quite reliable and accurate. And whatever, inventions can and do happen independently, It is you who read some >who did it first< in the Abagond post.
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@ Kiwi
Yup.
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@Kiwi
Exactly.
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@King & @Kiwi, well said!
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King, Ötzi was found on the Italian-Austrian border, (first they thought he was found in Austria, the border is not always clearly indicated in the mountains), that is a LONG way from Northern Europe
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“The most surprising thing about him is that he had a copper axe – a thousand years before anyone in that part of the world was known to have one. ”
No, him having a copper axe isn’t 1,000 years before anyone in that part was known to have one, and isn’t really all THAT early either. Copper tools having been used for several thousand years already in various parts of the world (as well as bronze in some places, even). Copper tools were fairly new in that area at the time (~3k BCE), but known to have existed there by then.
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Acupuncture was never and still isnt considered science. That some (contrary to what it might seem, whites are not a borg) think differently does not really matter, they think sort of silly stuff like vaccination causing autism or homeopathy.
Not to mention that some tattoos here and there does not seem to be to be an example of acupuncture…
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Hello my question is for Kong and Nikita. So are you saying that white people cant or should not own anything of copper or metal just because someone else started it first. We shouldn’t have knives or anything? I mean what should we use sticks. Please explain
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This was random.
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I know I’m srry but I’m just trying to get a answer from them
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@Nathan t ..Where do I begin with what I consider to be a nonsensical question??
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I don’t know about anyone else here, but I think Otzi was hot for a white man! Discuss!
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http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2014/03/new-diet-sexual-attraction-may-have-spurred-europeans-lighter-skin
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AHAHAHAHAHA @Hernie!
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Hey, you have to give credit where it’s due. At least he is manly, more so than the suckers they got passing for men today!
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