Clues From the Past:

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Clues From the Past The Discovery of the Iceman
Lessem, 1994
Presentation Prepared by Jen Waldron
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• The Iceman was discovered on September 19,1991.
• His discovery was made by Erika and Helmut Simon
  while hiking in the Tyrolean Alps in
  Italy/Austria.
• Their first thought was that this was a doll, not
  a man.

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• The Italian Police were called to the scene.
• They assumed that this was a man recently killed
  in a hiking accident.
• This was ruled out the next day by Austrian
  scientist Rainer Henn.
• His skin was mummy-like. Not like someone who
  has been recently killed.

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Removal Efforts

• The effort to remove the body was by the Austrian
  Police.
• Their method was by jackhammer, which ended up
  tearing his clothes and opening a hole in the
  Icemans hip.
• Other officials and hikers also tried to free him
  with axes and ski poles.
• One person used a stick nearby, later found to be
  part of Icemans backpack.
• The body was finally removed by archeologists
  with axes and ski poles.

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How Did He Die?

• Some say he starved.
• Others say exhaustion.
• While others say hypothermia.
• Here is what we do know..

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- We know that the Iceman died in a narrow
hollow, when a dry snow began to fall
shortly after. - This process freeze dried the
body
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- Over hundreds of years, more snow fell. -
Eventually a glacier moved over the rocks. -
The Icemans body was protected in a narrow
hollow below.
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- Slowly the glacier began to melt. - In 1991,
desert storms in North Africa blew clouds
of dust over the Alps. - The dark dust absorbed
the heat of the sun, causing the ice to melt
more rapidly.
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- On September 19, 1991, the Icemans head was
spotted in the ice and snow. - Scientists
believe that the body was uncovered three
days before its discovery.
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Preservation of the Iceman

• The Iceman must remain under the same conditions
  that he has for 5300 years.
  
• The temperature must be between 0 and -10 degrees
  centigrade. (This is the temperature of a glacier
  at 10,400 feet)
• The humidity must amount to 100. (The first
  conditions in a lab were only 98, therefore a
  second cooling box must be running constantly.)

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Research Conditions

• The Iceman may only be out for a maximum of 11
  minutes at a time and only for control and
  investigative purposes.
• Investigations of the Iceman must not impede each
  other.
• Research usually requires the special design of
  instruments.
• There are over 40 research teams working with the
  Iceman.

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The Border Battle

• When first found, there was a dispute to whether
  he was found in Italy or Austria.
• He was first taken to the Department of Anatomy
  in Innsbruck, Austria.
• It was later found that he was really located in
  Italy, only 11 meters shy of the Austrian border.
• As of January of 1998, he has been displayed in
  the Museum of Archeology in Bolzano, Italy.

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Iceman Facts

• He was between the ages of 25 and 40 when he
  died.
• He was 53 tall.
• When recovered, he weighed 13kg (about 29
  pounds).
• Arthritis was found in his lower back, knees and
  ankles.
• Cuts on his knees were filled with an herb which
  sealed itself below the skin.

• Fifteen different groups of tattoos were found on
  his body. These were found along the same
  meridians as those used by Chinese acupuncture.
  (This is a clue to how old the Iceman may be.)
• The inner organs have undergone maximal shrink
  and dehydration.
• Eyes were still intact.
• He was mummified completely before being
  enveloped by the glacier.

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The Icemans Tools
QUIVER

• A quiver is a long fur sac made of deerskin
  stiffened by a wooden rod which held arrows.
• There were 14 arrows. Two were ready to use with
  flint arrowheads still attached with gum made
  from boiled roots of birch trees. The feathers
  were also attached to this. The other dozen
  shafts were made of viburnum wood, and were
  unfinished.

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BOW

• The bow was unstrung and not yet notched.
• Fresh cut marks from the ax were still on the
  surface.
• It was nearly six feet in length.
• It was constructed out of yew, which was the best
  wood available for making bows.
• Before the Iceman died, it was placed carefully
  against a rock. The lower end was not found
  until August of 1992. It had been broken during
  the recovery effort.

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AX

• The ax was the first clue to how old the Iceman
  was.
• It consisted of a four inch metal blade wrapped
  with cow leather and glue from gum. This blade
  was held tightly in an L-shaped handle made of
  yew wood.
• The blade was first thought to be made of bronze.
  Later it was found to be made of pure copper,
  which was used almost 2000 years before bronze.

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FLINT BLADED KNIFE OR DAGGER

• This tool consisted of a blade which was the size
  of his thumb.
• It has a handle made of ash wood.
• The blade was protected by a sheath made of woven
  grass.
• This may have been used to cut leather or small
  animals.

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ANTLER TIPPED TOOL

• This tool was used for shaping and sharpening
  fine flint blade, such as the one on the dagger.
• This may have been worn as a good luck charm.

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FUR TASSEL WITH POLIOSHED MARBLE
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FUNGUS ON A STRING

• This was made of birch tree fungus that was
  threaded onto narrow strips of fur.
• It was used for medicinal purposes and contained
  an antibiotic to fight off illness.
• Iceman was found with the remains of one shoe
  stuffed with grass.
• Only the inner netting of the other shoe survived.

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SHOES
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LEATHER POUCH

• This pouch was probably worn on his belt.
• The following contents were in it two pieces of
  flint, grass string, a needle pointed awl made
  from a thin shaft of bone, and the antler tipped
  tool.

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FUR HAT

• This hat was found 28 inches from where the
  Icemans head was found.
• It was found during the second visit in August of
  1992.
• This is the oldest of its kind in Europe.

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GRASS CAPE

• Only a fragment of this was found.
• This leads people to believe that the Iceman
  froze to death.
• These were used for tinder in starting fires.
• It is not know what was carried in this.
• Only portions of it were found.

TWO STRIPS OF FELT
WOOD FRAMED BACKPACK
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BIRCH BARK CONTAINERS

• One of these containers was blackened on the
  inside. This was used for carrying ember, or
  pieces of charcoal which were wrapped in maple
  leaves and covered with wet grasses. The flakes
  of the charcoal can still be seen on the maple
  leaves.

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Copper Age

• From some of the tools found, it can be
  determined that the Iceman was alive during the
  Copper Age.
• The Copper Age was from 4000-2000 B.C. in Central
  Europe.
• Agricultural inventions were created such as the
  plow and the wheeled cart.
• There were domesticated animals such as dogs,
  sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs.
• The cattle were used for their milk in cheese and
  butter. The sheep were used for meat, not their
  wool.
• The villagers grew wheat and barley and made
  clothes from flax.
• The oldest wheel ever found is from the copper
  age.

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So, What Now?

• We have learned a great deal from the discovery
  of the Iceman.
• -How he lived
• -What times were like in the Copper Age
• -How a geologic event could preserve a wealth of
  things undiscovered

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A man who may have once looked like this...
Lessem 1994
Gives us a tiny clue to a small time frame in our
Earths history.