Ötzi, the tip of the iceberg of frozen mummies

The upper part of the trunk protruded from the ice in a ravine at the top of the Tisenjoch mountain pass, on the Italian side of the Alpine border between Austria and Italy.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
10 November 2022 Thursday 11:49
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Ötzi, the tip of the iceberg of frozen mummies

The upper part of the trunk protruded from the ice in a ravine at the top of the Tisenjoch mountain pass, on the Italian side of the Alpine border between Austria and Italy. It was 1991, and the two German hikers who found the body of Ötzi, a man who died around 5,300 years ago, quickly called the police.

The first hypothesis was that they had discovered the victim of an accident. But when archaeologists sprang into action, it didn't take long for evidence to be found that the scene represented a prehistoric murder. The arrowhead in his shoulder was conclusive.

Ötzi, so nicknamed because his remains were found very close to the Ötztal valley, is the oldest known "ice mummy". And it seems that it is only the tip of the iceberg. At least this is what researchers from the Norwegian Department of Cultural Heritage think in an article published in The Holocene magazine.

If his theory is true, in the coming years more and more bodies of ancient humans could appear that would have been buried in the ice and that are now emerging thanks to global warming. Ötzi was a surprise, but cases like his could end up being common.

The thing is, many of the assumptions about how weather, climate, and glacial ice combined to preserve this 5,000-year-old man were wrong, Lars Pilø, Thomas Reitmaier, and Atle Nesje write in their study.

University of Innsbruck archaeologist Konrad Spindler, the first researcher to arrive at the site 30 years ago, believed that Ötzi was fleeing conflict and had taken refuge in the mountains in the dead of winter. When he died, he was quickly covered by snow and froze thanks to the low temperatures, which would have preserved his body in a kind of glacial "time capsule".

Spindler also pointed out that the shallow ravine where hikers found the iceman protected him for centuries. Until the hot summer of 1991 turned the icebergs into water, which would have exposed this prehistoric man.

The retreat of glaciers around the world in recent decades has led to the emergence of more and more ancient remains, including animal carcasses, hunting gear, horse manure and skis. Findings that would show that the entire series of lucky accidents that would have preserved Ötzi never actually happened.

Recent analyzes of seeds and leaves on and around the body by other researchers point to a death in spring rather than fall or winter. That would mean that Ötzi could have been partially exposed in the snow for an entire alpine summer.

In the following centuries, archaeologists explain, it was repeatedly exposed to the elements. Radiocarbon dates obtained from grass, dung, moss, and other organic material from the bottom of the ravine indicate that they are younger than Ötzi's body, corroborating that the site was not frozen year-round.

Periodic exposure to air and sun could also explain why the upper parts of this prehistoric man's body, particularly the back of his head and its layer of skin, are partially decomposed, while the lower parts are intact. "If he had been immediately buried in ice, he would have been better preserved," says Pilø.

"There's also no way he could have died in the ravine," he adds. His belongings were scattered around and some were found up to 6 meters away, suggesting that he died in the spring snow over the ravine and was then swept away by meltwater.

This scenario, and not a fight that included a fatal injury and a run to higher ground, may explain the team appearing damaged. Old skis, arrowheads and hunting gear discovered in melting ice in Norway, Canada and elsewhere also show wear and tear.

That doesn't change, however, that Ötzi took an arrow in the back. The authors argue, based on evidence from other Alpine sites, that mountain passes were often border lines and areas of conflict between prehistoric tribal groups.

"There is a possibility that similar sites have preserved human cadaver parts," says Thomas Reitmaier. "We have to be vigilant in the coming years, because the ice patches are melting very quickly everywhere," he concludes.