Glacier man may have been attacked twice

Ötzi’s Last Days –
Glacier man may have been attacked twice


München, 28.01.2009


Another chapter in a murder case over 5000 years old. New
investigations by an LMU research team working together with a Bolzano
colleague reconstructed the chronology of the injuries that Ötzi, the
glacier man preserved as a frozen mummy, received in his last days. It
turns out, for example, that he did in fact only survive the arrow
wound in his back for a very short time – a few minutes to a number of
hours, but no more – and also definitely received a blow to the back
with a blunt object only shortly before his death. In contrast, the
cut wound on his hand is some days older. “We are now able to make the
first assertions as to the age and chronology of the injuries,”
reports Professor Andreas Nerlich, who led the study. “It is now clear
that Ötzi endured at least two injuring events in his last days, which
may imply two separate attacks. Although the ice mummy has already
been studied at great length, there are still new results to be
gleaned. The crime surrounding Ötzi is as thrilling as ever!"


It is the oldest ice mummy ever found. Ötzi, the man from the
Neolithic Age, is giving science critical information about life more
than 5000 years ago, not least from his equipment. His copper axe, for
example, reveals that metalworking was already much more advanced in
that era than was previously assumed. Yet Ötzi’s body, too, gives us
many details as to his diet, state of health – and not least to his
murder.


“Some time ago, we detected a deep cut wound on Ötzi’s hand that he
must have survived for at least a couple of days,” says Nerlich, head
of the Institute of Pathology at Municipal Hospital Munich-Bogenhausen
and member of the Medical Faculty of LMU. “Another team at about the
same time found an arrow tip in Ötzi’s left armpit. The shaft of the
arrow was missing, but there is an entry wound on the back.” It is
probable, in that case, that the man died of internal bleeding because
the arrow hit a main artery. What was unclear, however, was the age
and exact chronology of the injuries.


Now, Nerlich has reconstructed the missing chronology while working
together with LMU forensic scientist Dr. Oliver Peschel and Dr. Eduard
Egarter-Vigl, head of the Institute for Pathology in Bolzano.
According to the new information, Ötzi did in fact only survive the
arrow wound for a very short period of time, of no more than a few
hours. A few centimeters below the entry wound they detected an
additional small discoloration of the skin, which was probably caused
by a blow from a blunt object. In both cases, the researchers, using
new immunohistochemical detection methods, managed to detect very
briefly survived, yet unequivocally fatal bleeding.


Above the spine are more discolorations that are not associated with
bleeding. They probably occurred after the man’s death, due to his
interment, for example. “Ötzi had only shortly survived the arrow
wound and the blow on the back,” Nerlich summarizes. “At least a
couple of days before his death, however, he sustained a severe cut
wound on his right hand. Over several days, then, Ötzi suffered at
least two injuring events – which could point towards two separate
attacks.” (suwe)


Publication:
“New evidence for Ötzi’s final trauma”,
Andreas G. Nerlich, Oliver Peschel, Eduard Egarter-Vigl
Intensive Care Medicine, online, January 2009


http://www.en.uni-muenchen.de/news/research/oetzi.html

Glacier man may have been attacked twice