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An Institute for the Iceman<br />
Five thousand years ago, the Iceman would never have dreamt that he would be the<br />
subject of an entire <strong>EURAC</strong> institute. But for research, the Iceman, known also as “Ötzi”,<br />
has turned out to be an indisputable and unique stroke of luck.<br />
More than five thousand years ago, the<br />
man from the ice was hit by an arrow<br />
while crossing the Tisenjoch pass in the<br />
Ötz Valley and left there by his murderers.<br />
Favorable wind and weather quickly<br />
mummified his body, and snow and<br />
ice preserved him in this state until 1991<br />
A.D. At an age of more than five thousand<br />
years, Ötzi is the oldest known “wet<br />
mummy” that has been completely preserved.<br />
This fact alone would have been<br />
sensational enough, because south of the<br />
Alps, there are only half a dozen more or<br />
less poorly preserved buried specimens<br />
from the Copper Age. What makes Ötzi<br />
even more interesting for science, though,<br />
is that he was not buried, but rather he<br />
died precisely the way he was when he set<br />
off into the mountains on foot with his<br />
(everyday) equipment.<br />
The Iceman as a Window into the Past<br />
If Ötzi had been buried, those around him<br />
would certainly have sent him off on his<br />
eternal journey well prepared. He presumably<br />
would have been dressed in festive<br />
garments, would have brought valuable<br />
gifts into the grave with him, and would<br />
have been equipped with a set of finished<br />
tools and weapons, the skillfulness<br />
of which would amaze us today. Or else,<br />
as occurred with other mummies, knowledgeable<br />
contemporaries would perhaps<br />
have rubbed his skin with resins and oils<br />
in order to render his earthly remains less<br />
perishable. But to our good fortune, none<br />
of this happened to Ötzi. Because of his<br />
violent death in the snow, we now know<br />
how a man dealt with his everyday life five<br />
thousand years ago. What did his clothing<br />
look like? They were sewn together out of<br />
different furs, worn for a long time, and<br />
frequently mended. We can observe, as<br />
it were, how skillfully the man was capa-<br />
ble of making weapons even while on the<br />
move, which is why we know today how<br />
and with what hand-tools a bow and arrow<br />
was made. For example, never before<br />
in the field of archaeology was a sharpener<br />
preserved for sharpening flints been<br />
found. Not only has Ötzi handed down to<br />
us how his equipment looked during his<br />
lifetime, he also provided us for the first<br />
time anywhere in the world with the instructions<br />
on how to make a functional<br />
prehistoric weapon.<br />
Our general understanding of European<br />
prehistory, early history and ancient tech-<br />
The Iceman handed down to us how his equipment looked during his lifetime.<br />
FOTO: Manuela Tessaro / South Tyrol Museum Of Archaeology<br />
nology has profited from the enormous<br />
wealth of new knowledge delivered by the<br />
Iceman. And it is not just the archaeological<br />
disciplines, but rather countless other<br />
areas of research that have profited from<br />
Ötzi’s lonely death. Biologists, geologists,<br />
climate researchers, cultural anthropologists,<br />
and many others have obtained<br />
important information that can now be<br />
used as the base data for numerous scientific<br />
fields.<br />
A Catalyst for Present - Day Research<br />
In contrast to many mummies, Ötzi’s un-<br />
treated, deep - frozen body even today<br />
contains still - functioning muscle fibers,<br />
organ and tissue remains, and genetic<br />
material that continues to allow the reconstruction<br />
of part of his hereditary information<br />
even after five thousand years.<br />
The information stored in his DNA still<br />
provides us today with, for example, information<br />
about Ötzi’s origins and the<br />
settlement of Europe.<br />
Above all, view into the past is also provided<br />
by the medical knowledge of the origin<br />
Who is Ötzi?<br />
In 1991, the glacial ice of the Ötztaler Alps<br />
yielded up a 5,300 year - old man from the<br />
Copper Age: mummified, snatched from life<br />
by an arrow, and preserved with all of his objects<br />
of everyday life.<br />
Ötzi, as the Iceman has affectionately been<br />
known since his discovery, has become the<br />
world’s best - known “wet mummy”. Since<br />
being discovered, he has provided essential<br />
scientific data and approaches for research<br />
in anthropology, archaeology, medicine, genetics,<br />
botany, preservation technology, and<br />
many other disciplines.<br />
Since 1998, the Iceman has been receiving<br />
visitors from a refrigerated chamber specially<br />
constructed for him in the South Tyrol Museum<br />
of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.<br />
of diseases. The analysis of causes of disease<br />
and the comparison with the genetic<br />
makeup of an individual from the Copper<br />
Age can provide important knowledge<br />
for future - oriented pure research that is<br />
wholely directed at one day being able to<br />
heal people with genetically based illnesses.<br />
And Ötzi has also already “helped out”<br />
with several patents in applied research.<br />
While the public was still discussing the<br />
cause of his death, new steel - free surgical<br />
implements made from titanium were<br />
developed thanks to the research on the<br />
Iceman. Today, they are used not only<br />
with Ötzi, but with patients with allergies,<br />
as well. In addition, the mummy has<br />
contributed to the development of laser<br />
procedures in plastic surgery. And preservation<br />
technology for mummies was<br />
in part revolutionized in Bolzano. It is a<br />
great challenge for the state of the art to<br />
also preserve the “wet mummy” for generations<br />
to come.<br />
Ötzi’s Institute<br />
The <strong>EURAC</strong> Institute for Mummies and<br />
the Iceman will combine all of the results<br />
of research and discoveries that<br />
have been made in various locations in<br />
the sixteen years since Ötzi was found in-<br />
and other mummies in a targeted manner,<br />
carrying them out itself and developing<br />
new procedures. The Institute’s existing<br />
contacts with other mummy research<br />
centers both in Europe and overseas guarantee<br />
a close connection with current research<br />
and modern technologies.<br />
The discovery of Ötzi was more than<br />
just a sensation that has brought people<br />
throughout the world closer to the life<br />
and culture of the Copper Age. It was also<br />
the initial spark for completely new possibilities<br />
for research. The abundance of information<br />
from his body is so great that it<br />
is keeping active a mummy institute that<br />
is unique throughout the entire world.<br />
Katharina Hersel / <strong>EURAC</strong><br />
Institute for Mummies and the Iceman<br />
katharina.hersel@eurac.edu<br />
46 Dezember – Dicembre 2007 Dezember – Dicembre 2007 47<br />
South Tyrol Museum Of Archaeology<br />
to a platform of knowledge and also includes<br />
knowledge from research on other<br />
mummies. All ongoing and future research<br />
projects on the Icemant are coordinated<br />
and overseen here. This overview<br />
also makes it possible for the Institute to<br />
initiate plans for future research on Ötzi<br />
The untreated deep - frozen body contains still - functioning muscle fibers, organs and tissue remains.<br />
South Tyrol Museum Of Archaeology