A human body, partially encased in ice, was found in the Alps in 1991. Police initially thought the man had died in a mountaineering accident, but archaeologists argued he was murdered over 5000 years ago.
The man's body is the oldest known "ice mummy" on record. The arrowhead embedded in his shoulder has opened a window on life in prehistoric Europe. Archaeologists argue in a paper published today that tzi's preservation is not unusual. More bodies from the distant past are waiting to emerge as the ice begins to melt.
When tzi was discovered, people thought he was a freak event. Pil and other researchers wrote in the journal that many of the assumptions about how weather, climate, and ice preserved him were incorrect. The paper sheds new light on the interpretation of the find.
Konrad Spindler, a researcher at the University of Innsbruck, came up with a plausible explanation for why the body was preserved so well. Damage to tzi's backpack and other equipment led to the idea that he was fleeing a conflict and taking refuge in the mountains. He was covered by winter snow after he died. The man was preserved in a time capsule because of a climate shift.
The iceman was protected from the flow of ice just a few meters above by a shallow stone Gully. A warm summer in 1991 exposed the mummy. The general understanding was that the beginning of a cooler period was marked by tzi.
The retreat of glaciers and ice patches around the world over the past few decades has led to the emergence of other ancient remains. A co-author of the new study, Thomas Reitmaier, says that no one expected similar sites. We found this one to be in line with the picture ofglacial archaeology we have developed.
The researchers concluded that many of the accidents thought to have preserved tzi never occurred. Recent analyses of seeds and leaves around the body suggest that tzi may die in the spring rather than the fall.
The authors say he was repeatedly bared to the elements. The site was open to the air because the carbon dates from grass, dung, moss, and other organic material are younger than tzi. Pil disagrees with the idea that he was in a time capsule.
The idea that a climate shift or cold period set in 5100 years ago kept the body in ice for thousands of years is not true. Huss says that he made this case in courses with students.
The upper parts of tzi's body are partially decomposing because of periodic exposure. He would have been better preserved if he had been buried in ice right away.
The authors think that tzi was not quickly buried. He could not have died in the gullies. His missing and scattered belongings suggest he died on the spring snow above the gullies and was washed into it by the meltwater.
That scenario may explain the damage to equipment. Skis, arrowheads, and hunting equipment found in Canada and Norway show wear and break. There are similarities between the tumbling of tzi's body and equipment by meltwater and shifting ice.
The iceman was shot in the back with an arrow and it is thought to be the most unusual aspect of the find. There is a person shot up there and preserved.
That might change. Evidence from other sites in the Alps shows mountain passes were often border lines. Reitmaier says there is a chance similar sites have preserved parts of dead people. The ice patches are melting rapidly, so we have to keep an eye on it.
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