A 5,300-year-old murder mystery - Albert Zink

1,313,914 views ・ 2023-08-17

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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On September 19th, 1991, two hikers traversing the Ötzal Alps
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on the border of Austria and Italy discovered a corpse emerging from the ice.
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Researchers soon realized they weren’t looking at the victim
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of a recent climbing accident, as initially assumed,
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but the mummified body of a man who’d lived about 5,300 years ago,
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who they came to call Ötzi the Iceman.
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One early theory for Ötzi’s alpine death was that he was a local shepherd or hunter
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who got caught in bad weather and froze.
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However, a shocking discovery eventually revealed his true cause of death
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and upended his story.
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So, what do we know about Ötzi?
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And how did he die?
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Over the millennia, the Alpine cold and sun protected Ötzi’s body
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from decomposition, freezing and drying it out in cycles,
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and leaving critical clues for researchers.
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Ötzi was about 160 centimeters tall, weighed some 50 kilograms,
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and died between 40- and 50-years-old.
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He led an active life but had a strong genetic predisposition
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for cardiovascular diseases.
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His intestines were also parasitized by whipworms
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and his stomach contained ulcer-causing bacteria,
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all of which might have caused some unpleasant symptoms.
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He died hundreds of years before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid
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were constructed, around 3350 BCE.
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Ötzi lived during the late Neolithic Copper Age,
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when metal extraction and crafting practices
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were spreading throughout Eurasia.
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Indeed, along with stone arrowheads and knives,
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Ötzi carried an axe made of copper from what is now Tuscany.
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Swaths of his clothing were made of sheep and goat leather,
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and his diet included cultivated grains,
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all of which suggested that Ötzi’s people relied on certain domesticated animals
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and crops.
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And when researchers inspected Ötzi’s skin
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with light ranging from infrared to UV,
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they found a total of 61 tattoos.
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Interestingly, the markings corresponded with areas of Ötzi’s body
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where he probably experienced pain,
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like from degeneration observed in his knees, ankles, and spine.
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Researchers think that the tattoos might have been intended as treatment—
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perhaps an early form of acupuncture.
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Close scrutiny also clarified the circumstances of Ötzi’s death—
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and led to a tantalizing prehistoric murder mystery.
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A decade into studying Ötzi, a CT scan picked up a crucial detail:
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there was a flint arrowhead lodged in Ötzi’s left shoulder.
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Soon enough, researchers started piecing Ötzi’s final days together.
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A deep cut wound on Ötzi’s hand showed initial signs of healing
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and must have occurred just days before his death.
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It was likely a defensive wound which indicated that Ötzi was attacked
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with a sharp blade but fought back and survived.
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Ötzi may have dressed the wound with bog moss,
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which has antiseptic properties and was found with his remains.
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Meanwhile, the types and location of pollen in Ötzi’s digestive tract
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indicated that it was spring or early summer
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and that his last three days were hectic.
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Ötzi seemed to be fleeing something.
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About 33 hours before his death,
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Ötzi was at an altitude of around 2,500 meters,
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near the timber line.
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Then, approximately 24 hours later,
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he descended to at least 1,200 meters, to a zone of warmth-loving trees.
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In his final hours, Ötzi reached an altitude of around 3,000 meters
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where grasses, sedges, and certain wildflowers dominated.
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His last meal included a large helping of dried wild ibex, roe deer, and grains.
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Then, despite Ötzi’s apparent efforts to escape the conflict,
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someone at a distant vantage shot him from behind.
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The arrow pierced a major artery and embedded itself in his left shoulder,
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causing extensive blood loss.
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Ötzi probably died soon after,
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his remains and all his belongings left undisturbed in the glacier for millennia.
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This 5,300-year-old cold case has offered invaluable glimpses into the distant past.
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But the mystery of who exactly Ötzi was and why he was killed
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will probably never be solved—
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the tangible evidence for the act degraded and carried away,
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lost to snow drifts long ago.
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