Introducing the Iceman
One of the most interesting people in history is probably someone you have never heard of.
We will call him "Iceman" because his body was frozen in ice for several thousand years.
His body was discovered in 1991 by two hikes in the mountains near the border of Austria and Italy.
The lower part of his body was still frozen in ice, but the upper part was uncovered and visible.
Once the body was extracted from the ice, it was taken in for examination.
Upon examination, scientists determined that the Iceman lived around 5300 years ago.
This was at the end of the Stone Age, nearly 1000 years before the great pyramids were built.
This made him the oldest mummy ever found.
What had to happen before the body could be examined ? it had be extracted from the ice
Which part of body was uncovered and visible? the upper part
Iceman's body was in good condition when it was found.
People believed that the body was one of many hikers who had been lost in recent years.
Nobody suspected that the body was as old as it was.
It had been preserved by the ice for thousands of years.
Given its good condition, studying it was like opening a window in time.
Scientists could learn a lot about how people lived 5000 years ago.
Why was the body in such good condition when it was found? It had been preserved in the ice.
The Iceman lived at the end of the Stone Age, a time of great change in human history.
Hunting was still a major source of food, but people were beginning to farm.
People were settling down and forming communities.
These communities were claiming territory and setting up boundaries.
As a result, sometimes they had to fight to defend their territory from outsiders.
The village where the Iceman lived was probably not far from where he died.
Perhaps he was killed in a battle with outsiders.
What was still a major source of food at the end of the Stone Age? hunting
Why did people have to fight outsiders? to defend their territory
Why did people need to claim territory? they were settling down to farm
It was in good condition because it had been preserved by the ice.
Death of the Iceman
Iceman was about 45 years old when he died.
He was 1.60 meters tall and weighed about 50 kilograms when he was alive.
Along with the body were some other objects.
These included some weapons, including a bow and arrow, a knife and an ax.
He was still wearing one of his shoes and he had a backpack with a wooden frame.
What was one of the weapons that was found with his body? a bow and arrow
He also had some plants that may have been used for medical purposes.
Further examination of the body showed that he was well fed, with a diet of meat, bread and fruit.
In fact, he had eaten several meals within a few hours of his death.
From all the evidence, he probably had a good life.
Perhaps he was hunting for food when he was caught in a sudden storm.
The plans that he had may have been used what purpose? for medical purposes
For several years after the discovery of the body, scientists believed that he died from the cold.
Weather is unpredictable in the area where he was found, so perhaps he was caught in an unexpected storm.
However, ten years after his body was found, new evidence pointed to a new cause of death.
In 2001, examiners x-rayed the body and found an arrowhead deep in the Iceman's chest.
Further analysis revealed that the Iceman had been shot from behind.
The arrow had cut through an artery and had caused severe bleeding.
Clearly, it was a case of murder, the oldest case of murder ever discovered.
What new evidence was found for the cause of death? an arrowhead in his chest
He ate several meals within a few hours of his death.