Subject: Iceman Otzi Murdered???? [Part 1]
From: RTB <21stcentury@ALTAMONTKS.COM>
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 20:57:15 -0600
To: ARCH-L@listserv.tamu.edu

Update on Cause of O"tzi's Death (8/7/01): At this point, here is a summary of what happened to the Iceman, based on the new findings:

The fatal wound. A flint arrow hit the Iceman in the back and ripped upwards through the shoulder blade and stopped within an inch of the left lung. It is still unclear if the arrow hit an artery or a vein; in either case, the resulting wound would have been fatal either from bleeding (an artery) or bacterial infection (vein). Brenda Fowler (in the Times article) quotes Dr. Egarter Vigl, the chief pathologist at the General Regional Hospital in Bolzano, for this information.

The discovery of the fatal wound. Although the Iceman's body was discovered in September 1991 and studied over the years, it was not until June 28, 2001 that the fatal arrowhead was found in O"tzi's body. That day, Dr. Paul Gostner, chief radiologist at the Bolzano hospital, examined new x-rays of the Iceman that revealed the stunning evidence missed in earlier studies. That same night, Dr. Gostner and Dr. Vigl visited O"tzi at the museum. Fowler relates this part of the dramatic story in the Times' article:

"Using the warmth of their hands, the doctors thawed the wound and inserted a probe, confirming that there was a wound that had not had time to heal. The wooden arrow shaft, which would have been attached to the arrowhead with five sinews and birch tar is gone, and Dr. Egarter Vigl and Dr. Gostner speculated that the man had pulled it out, doing even more internal damage. Neither man believes the Iceman could have injured himself by falling on an arrow. Dr. Egarter Vigl said he hoped to explore the wound surgically and perhaps remove the arrowhead to determine how much damage it caused."

Missing Evidence. One reason for the latest radiography study was to examine the three broken ribs that earlier researchers had reported. However, the new x-rays do not reveal these breaks. This is also a strange and fascinating development in the story of O"tzi, since much was made of these broken ribs (they led to a great deal of speculation about the Iceman's final days, especially in Konrad Spindler's vivid account).

The new x-rays also call into the question much of the initial work (at least the radiography) that was done on O"tzi's body. How could three ribs appear broken in initial studies and unbroken in the recent study? Fowler reports that Dr. Dieter zur Nedden, who led the initial study, was not allowed to work on the body out of the freezer for longer than 30 minutes at a time and that the number of x-rays had been restricted. This may have led to some hasty work.

Speculation about his Death. The arrowhead and the lack of broken ribs will change much that is "known" about O"tzi and his last day of life. Researchers have speculated many things about the cause of O"tzi's death--the arrowhead changes almost everything that has been written. Theories to consider now:

1. Was O"tzi shot or could he have fallen on an arrow? I wrote to Brenda Fowler and asked for clarification on this subject. She responded that Drs. zur Nedden and William Murphy, the original radiologists, also agree:

"...that there wouldn't have been enough power in the fall to plunge the arrowhead all the way through his fur coat AND the shoulder blade. Still, I wonder....we don't know how he carried his quiver. It's rough walking up there, and perhaps he could have slipped and fallen backwards onto his quiver. That might also explain the two broken arrows in the quiver."

2. If O"tzi was shot, was he shot accidentally? According to Brenda Fowler, Dr. Annaluisa Pedrotti (University of Trento) speculates that the Iceman may have been shot by a hunter who buried O"tzi immediately.

3. If O"tzi was shot, was he a victim of homicide? Again, according to Fowler, Dr. Markus Egg (Romano-Germanic Central Museum) offers this thought: O"tzi was a shepherd who was killed by another shepherd who wanted a larger flock of animals.

Cheers:

Robert T. Broadway
Executive Director
21st Century Homestead, Inc.
Training Plus Foundation
Terra Incognita
Operations Officer
Pelagic Shark Research Foundation

Subject: Iceman Otzi Murdered?? [Part 2]
From: RTB <21stcentury@ALTAMONTKS.COM>
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 20:57:38 -0600
To: ARCH-L@listserv.tamu.edu

(Stone age shepherd caught in the snow...Wrong!!)

More to Follow. Stay tuned. There will more much more in the way of news (both fact and speculation) about O"tzi as more findings are announced.

New York Times Publishes O"tzi Update (8/7/01): Author Brenda Fowler (The Iceman) has written an O"tzi update for the New York Times and clarifies a number of points about the fatal arrowhead. The article is accompanied by three black and white photos. This is the summary to read: it is well-written, concise, and clear. Fowler interviews all of the main researchers involved with the new discovery and adds some new theories about the Iceman's death.

O"tzi Had Fleas (8/5/01): O"tzi the Iceman had fleas, or so says scientist Konrad Spindler, in an interview with the Austrian Press Agency. According to Spindler, recent testing has revealed the presence of two fleas in the Iceman's clothing. Spindler said that fleas have previously been traced back only to the 5th or 6th Century B.C.

Fatal Arrowhead Found in O"tzi (7/25/01): O"tzi the Iceman has died another death, this time solving a major mystery about him.

A recent computerized tomography (CT) procedure on the body revealed a flint arrowhead embedded on the left side of his chest. The CT-scan also revealed the damage that the arrow had done: shot from below, it ripped through nerves and major blood vessels and shattered his left shoulder blade. The injury would have paralyzed his left arm and caused a great deal of internal bleeding. The scientists suspect that he would have lived only a few hours with this untreated wound.

Says Susanna, everything "that has been published over the past seven or eight years--that he died because of broken ribs, that he died under the snow, or that he was exhausted and laid down and fell asleep and froze to death--are wrong. Maybe there was a combat, maybe he was in a battle. There is a whole series of new implications. The story needs to be rewritten."

Did scientists need seven years to uncover the cause of O"tzi's death? Apparently so (they needed time to jockey for position and offer their own tantalizing theories, as Brenda Fowler reports in her excellent book on the Iceman). X-rays taken seven years ago revealed something in the Iceman's left chest, but no one pursued the matter.

Of course, even this "final conclusion" leaves many questions but one in particular: could the Iceman have fallen on an arrow or was he deliberately shot? Tracing the trajectory of the arrow inside the body does not show exactly and clearly what caused the arrow to enter his body.

Cheers:

Robert T. Broadway
Executive Director
21st Century Homestead, Inc.
Training Plus Foundation
Terra Incognita
Operations Officer
Pelagic Shark Research Foundation

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