Wednesday 21 March 2012


Iceman 'Otzi'

 When, Where and How the Iceman was discovered


The Iceman was discovered on September 19, 1991 by hikers, Erika and Helmut Simon who were German. It was found between the borders of Italy and Austria . As the couple left the marked summer mountain trail on their descent from the mountain, they came upon a gully in the rocks filled with glacier ice and meltwater. The pair discovered a skeleton with its head and torso sticking out of the ice. This is when, where and how the Iceman was discovered.

A recent article on 


Items found with Iceman and how they enhance our knowledge and understanding of the time in which the Iceman lived. 



The two factors to do with his body that enhances our knowledge and understanding of the man and the times in which he lived are his last meal and he had Arthritis. His last meal contained grain, fat and meat. This was a large meal, this shows how well he was looked after. The grain was Einkorn which was the first grain which tells, he and his tribe just started to farm. He was a hunter, we can see this by the meat he ate which was wild goat. He had Arthritis which scientists can tell by looking at his swelling on the left knee. Which tells this problem was already known in his time.These are the two factors that enhance our knowledge and understanding of the man and the times in which he lived.


http://www1.american.edu/ted/iceman.htm

 Cause of the death of the Iceman.


There were various account for changing interpretations about the Iceman’s cause of death, from the time of discovery to the present. There were interpretations that his own tribe may killed him because scientists can see he wasn’t predicting the kill because he had a large meal along the way and if you are a person who is predicting a chase you wouldn’t be eating much .As the investigation went on to his body there were new interesting factors about the Otzi Iceman’s body. The scientists missed the stomach because the stomach was not where it was meant to be. The stomach was closer to the chest. This was due to the fact the iceman was facing down onto the rock for decades and then ice came upon the top and covered it. This pressure caused the stomach to move. As the looked deeper into the body they find deep cuts on right hand which tells that he was involved with hand to hand combats especially with knife. Which shows that he wasn't use to fights. These are the discoveries made to the present and changing interpretations about Iceman's cause of death.

More information at: http://www.iceman.it/en


  The custodianship, ownership and ethics of the Iceman 

There are various issues relating to the custodianship and ownership of the iceman. There was the battle going on between the Italian government and the german couples who found the body. This battle went on for 14 years. There was the battle between Italy and Austria. It was found on the Italian side of the border but on Austrian soil. The investigations and surveys carried out in verifying the border problem. It turned out that it was 92.56m from the border in Italy. These were the issues relating to the custodianship and ownership of the Iceman. There were two ethical issues involved with the iceman. They were the fight for the body between the couple who found it and the Italian government. They were the fight between the two governments. These were the ethical issues relating to the Iceman.



These are when, where and how the Iceman 'Otzi' was found. The items found with the iceman and how they enhance our knowledge and understanding in enhancing the time in which he lived. The interpretations about the causes of death of the iceman. The custodianship, ownership and ethics of the iceman.   

Bibliography



  1.  The Telegraph, Pisa.N. (unknown year created) "Italy's Iceman mummy court- battle settled" . <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/2627026/Italys-Iceman-mummy-court-battle-settled.html>  date of publication 26th August 2008. (accessed at 10th March 2012) 
  2. Unknown Author. (unknown year created) "Otzi- the Iceman"<http://www.iceman.it/en/oetzi-the-iceman> date of publication 2011. (accessed at 13th March 2012  )
  3. Unknown Author. (unknown year created)"The story of the find"<http://www.iceman.it/en/node/231> date of publication 2011. (accessed at 16th March 2012)
  4. Unknown Author. (unknown year created) "The Iceman" <http://www1.american.edu/ted/iceman.htm> Unknown date of publication. (accessed at 18th March 2012)
  5. Unknown Author (unknown year published) "ANCIENT HISTORY CASE STUDY: HUMAN REMAINS" Unknown city published. Unknown publishing company. (used at 20th March 2012)
  6. Unknown Author (unknown year published) "OWNERSHIP AND CUSTODIANSHIP OF THE PAST" Unknown city published. Unknown publishing company. (used at 20th March 2012)