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In 1991, In the Ötztal alps, on the Austrian–Italian border, hikers stumbled upon a 5000 year old corpse. Ötzi is also called the Iceman, and is the natural mummy of a man who lived between 3350 and 3105 BC.

Because of the presence of an arrowhead embedded in his left shoulder and various other wounds. Researchers believe that Ötzi was killed by another person.

Stomach and intestine data
His stomach revealed contents of partly digested wild ibex meat. Wheat grains were also found. It is also believed Ötzi had a few slices of a dried, fatty wild goat meat too. In his intestines was chamois, and red deer meat; and, herb bread. Both were eaten with roots and fruits. The grain eaten with both meals, was a highly processed einkorn wheat bran. Nearby the body. Chaff and other grains of einkorn and barley were found. There were also seeds of flax and poppy. As well as, kernels of sloes (small plum-like fruits of the blackthorn tree); and, various seeds of berries growing in the wild.

Recently, a team found an astonishing level of Anatolian-farmer ancestry
In 2012, researchers published a draft version of Ötzi’s genome. In 2023 again, they studied Ötzi’s genome. It revealed very high proportion (90%) of Anatolian farmer-related ancestry.

Metal tradesman
High levels of both copper particles and arsenic were found in Ötzi’s hair. This, along with his copper axe blade, which is 99.7% pure copper. Led scientists to speculate that Ötzi was involved in copper smelting.

Tattoos
Ötzi had a total of 61 tattoos, consisting of 19 groups of black lines ranging from 1–3 mm in width and 7–40 mm in length. They were created from pigment manufactured out of fireplace ash or soot. It has been speculated that these tattoos may have been part of pain relief treatments similar to acupressure or acupuncture. The ones on his chest may have been treatment for his whipworm and intestinal pain.

Did you know? Ötzi lived 2,000 years before their previously known earliest tattoo use in China.

Clothing
Ötzi wore a cloak made of woven grass. He had a coat, belt, pair of leggings, loincloth, and shoes. All made from different skins of leather. He also wore a bearskin cap with leather chin strap.

Shoes
Seemingly designed for walking across the snow. His shoes were waterproof and wide. They were constructed using bearskin for the soles, deer hide for the top panels, and a netting made of tree bark. Soft grass went around the foot and in the shoe and functioned like modern socks. It had also been interpreted that his shoes were the upper part of snowshoes. Though it has not been totally proven.

Belt
His belt had a pouch sewn to it that contained a cache of useful items. A scraper, drill, flint flake, a bone awl and a dried fungus. For things like processing food, making tools and starting fires.

Tools and equipment
Weapons
He had a copper axe with a yew handle. A chert-bladed knife with an ash handle. And, a quiver of 14 arrows. With viburnum and dogwood shafts. In the quiver. Scientists also found what appears to be bow string, unfinished yew longbow, an antler tool, and an unidentified tool.

Prevalent in the nearby Po Valley (Italy), at the same time. Was Remedello culture
Axe blades, daggers and arrowheads found there are similar.

Food storage, & firestarting
Nearby, berries; two birch bark baskets; and, two species of polypore mushrooms with leather strings through them were found. Birch fungus was also found. It is known to have anthelmintic properties, and was probably used for medicine. In one of the baskets, there was type of tinder fungus. And, what appeared to be a complex firelighting kit. The kit featured more than a dozen different plants. In addition to flint and pyrite for creating sparks.

Offering a glimpse into the life of a man over 5,000 years ago. Ötzi provides valuable insight into neolithic and chalcolithic life. Including diet, health, clothing, and technology. The discovery has greatly enhanced our understanding of humans. And, the transition from neolithic to the use of metal tools.

Bibliography: Hammond, Norman (21 February 2005). “Iceman was wearing ‘earliest snowshoes’ ” (https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034417/http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001167.html). The Times. Archived from the original (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/courtsocial/article1814891.ece) on 29 November 2014

Holden, T.G. (2002), “The Food Remains from the Colon of the Tyrolean Ice Man”, in Dobney, Keith; O’Connor, Terry (eds.), Bones and the Man: Studies in Honour of Don Brothwell, Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 35–40, ISBN 978-1-84217-060-1

Fowler, Brenda (2001), Iceman: Uncovering the Life and Times of a Prehistoric Man found in an Alpine Glacier, Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, pp. 105–106, ISBN 978-0-226-25823-2

Zink, Albert; Samadelli, Marco; Gostner, Paul; Piombino-Mascali, Dario (1 June 2019). “Possible evidence for care and treatment in the Tyrolean Iceman” (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879981718300883). International Journal of Paleopathology. 25: 110–117. doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.07.006 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ijpp.2018.07.006). ISSN 1879-9817 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1879-9817). PMID 30098946 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30098946). S2CID 51969447 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:51969447).