Ötzi and the Iceman

Ötzi is the name given to one of Europe's most well-preserved mummified bodies. The body was found in the Ötzal Alps in 1991, and examinations tell us that he lived over 5000 years ago (Ca.3400-3100BCE). After his death, the body was dehydrated, and his remains were mummified naturally in the glacier ice.

When the operation to take care of his body started, numerous leather fragments, string, pieces of hide and clumps of hay came to light. These were pieces of Ötzi’s clothing, made from hide, leather and braided grass.

A coat, a belt, a pair of leggings, a loincloth, shoes and a bearskin cap were found. Other items spread around him were a copper axe, flint dagger, a long stick (later identified as a bow) and a quiver containing two finished arrows and 12 arrow shafts.

Also, the remains of some kind of backpack and two birch-bark containers; one of them contained traces of maple leaves and charcoal fragments.

Further examinations showed that his stomach contained traces of various types of grains, plants, fruits and meat. Sixty-one tattoos, in the form of lines and crosses, were found on his body. These tattoos were not made by a needle, like modern tattoos. Instead, they were made by a fine incision in which pulverized charcoal was rubbed.

Later examinations, along with x-rays, revealed a flint arrowhead in his left shoulder. The entry wound was discovered in his back. The arrow shattered the scapula and damaged the nerves and blood vessels, indicating that Ötzi might have bled to death.

His head also suffered a serious injury, this could have been caused by a fall when the arrow hit him or a blow to the head. He must have been involved in fight a few days before his death since his right hand shows a deep cut.

Ötzi was about 45 years old when he died, 160cm (5ft. 3in) tall and weighed around 50kg.
His body and belongings are displayed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy.

-FB

The Iceman Cometh No More by Glen Brown

He was snatched from death in 1991 completely outfitted
with the implements of everyday existence 5300 years ago
on the border between Austria and Italy...
except for penis and scrotum.       
                                                     --from a news story

Had the sloe berry and mushroom eater
arisen from his carved stillness
amid an ejaculation of protests

over custody rights in a room too bright to focus,
he may have groped for his lucky charm
to uncast the spell, known what to barter:

copper ax and rucksack for tissue and pouch.
But curiosity erected a jackhammer’s sadness,
and refrigerator’s hum, found a table souvenir
 
like a displaced part of desire
at the edge of a melting glacier,
the leather quiver without an arrow.
 
 
Recently published redux from Hum If You Can’t Sing by Glen Brown