Otzi the Iceman ate a large meal red deer, ibex, bone marrow about 30 minutes before someone shot him in the back with an arrow. He had defensive wounds from a fight days earlier. Blood from four different people was on his clothing. A 2023 DNA study completely changed what he looked like. This is the most detailed forensic file for a murder that happened 5,300 years ago.
One possibility is that he went into a village where he was outlawed, perhaps due to the fight days before. He had his meal before he was discovered, and then he ran out of the village, pursued by a posse. Since he still had the copper axe, robbery wasn't the motive for killing him, but vengeance fits.
It’s “Ötzi”, not “Otzi”. If you don’t have an ö key - or don’t want to use the special character menu - you can write “Oetzi” instead. O and ö are completely different letters.
It is still not clear what caused their extinction. At one point, Homo erectus was blamed, but that theory fell apart after a deeper investigation. Lately, science is blaming genetics. Who knows?
I think about Otzi from time to time. Not as to the motives of his killer(s). This is how life still is. We struggle then we die. Our memory and materials are transmitted through time.
I’m curious to know if his DNA has been linked with anyone of modern day, similar to Cheddar Man.
Indigenous Somerset folk!
Thank you for the article, that was so interesting.
One possibility is that he went into a village where he was outlawed, perhaps due to the fight days before. He had his meal before he was discovered, and then he ran out of the village, pursued by a posse. Since he still had the copper axe, robbery wasn't the motive for killing him, but vengeance fits.
Wow! Thanks a very interesting article about Otzi. That's the most detailed description I've ever read about who he was and what he was really like!
It’s “Ötzi”, not “Otzi”. If you don’t have an ö key - or don’t want to use the special character menu - you can write “Oetzi” instead. O and ö are completely different letters.
It is still not clear what caused their extinction. At one point, Homo erectus was blamed, but that theory fell apart after a deeper investigation. Lately, science is blaming genetics. Who knows?
Or maybe just because he was an outsider, he was automatically a perceived threat. An “ immigrant”, as it were. So little changes!
Very interesting. Always been fascinated by him
I think about Otzi from time to time. Not as to the motives of his killer(s). This is how life still is. We struggle then we die. Our memory and materials are transmitted through time.
One thing we do know.
It was much warmer than now when he died.
Did Oetzi abscond with the church funds? Run off with a senator's wife? I like to think he killed a man. It's the romantic in me.