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The IcemanOn September 19, 1991, the Iceman lay in wait, soon to be discovered by tourists Helmot and Erika Simon. The Iceman was at first mistaken for a dead hiker, not at all uncommon in the Alps. They called the police, who came to retrieve the body. Dr. Henn, a medical examiner, also came to help. The excavation was done with ski poles from a passing hiker; do to the fact that they did not know it was at least 5000 years old. During the excavation, one person on the team noticed something different about the coloring of the skin. Archaeologists were called, and they took the body to the University where they found the age of the man due to a process called radiocarbon dating. This man was almost 5,300 years old; making him the oldest body ever found, thus the name, Iceman. Many extraordinary artifacts were found on and next to the man. Interpreting the life of a typical man in the Stone Age has become much easier since the discovery of the Iceman and his artifacts.Some artifacts found were the Iceman’s remains, a pouch, an ax, his boots, and his quiver. The Iceman’s diet must’ve mainly been wheat because his body contained grains of wheat. Evidence that he used copper was from the fact that the ax’s blade was made out of copper and his hair had copper residue in it. Even though the Iceman was at least 10000 feet up in the Alps, he probably lived or passed through a warm climate, because grass only grows in warm places and he had grass lining his boots. Also, he may have been able to make fire because he had 3 different flints. The quiver of the Iceman suggests that he was very wise about nature because he knew how to use birch tar. Even a couple of these artifacts would have immensely helped archaeologists all over the world learn more about the past. Bonny Guang, a beginning archaeologist, thinks the Iceman was traveling to a town on the other side of the Alps to trade for flint. She also thinks he was planning to travel for a long time. One thing was that he was already 10000 feet up in the Alps, and he probably wasn't just going to go up 10000 feet and then go back down the Alps. Another reason is that only two of the twelve arrows found in his quiver were tipped with flint, so he could be going to trade for flint. A reason why she thinks he was going to travel for a long time is that he had sloberries in his pouch, and sloberries are poisonous until the next frost. Bonny Guang thinks the Iceman died of hypothermia, because it was so cold up there and he wasn’t dressed properly for the trip, as his boots indicate. Konrad Spindler, a German archaeologist, was called in to study the body. His theory is that the Iceman was a hunter and gatherer of food. He also believed that the Iceman was on a journey to other villages in order to trade tools, which is similar to Bonny Guang’s hypothesis. Spindler thinks that while traveling, the Iceman got tired and seeked shelter. In a crevice the Iceman fell asleep, and died of hypothermia. Theories have been created all over the world about the Iceman’s life and death, but it will always be uncertain if any of them are correct. |
