Arrow did not kill Otzi the Iceman, but rather froze him to death.
Scientists have proposed a new theory about how the Tyrolean iceman died
Otzi the Iceмan did not die after being shot with an arrow; it is more probable that he would freeze to death, scientists have now said.
Otzi, also known as the Tyrolean Iceman, is one of the most famous mummies in the world. It was first discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991. Since then, it has not ceased to fascinate scientists. Thanks to its excellent state of preservation, much has been learned about its ancestry, its health and its lifestyle.
But perhaps the deepest mystery they have tried to solve is how the 5,300-year-old Otzi died. In 2001, investigators established that he had been brutally murdered. They said that he was killed by an arrow that pierced his left shoulder.
A more recent study ʋtook to open this “cold case” to investigate the context of his death, showing that the arrow took him by surprise when he was resting. It is also possible that he ate dried meat of sage goat before he died.
But new research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists suggests that the cause of death might not have been the injury sustained when the arrow struck him. The study, “Radiological and Forensic Reassessment of the Iceman’s Cause of Death, c. 5300 BP” notes that Iceman may have succumbed to the cold.
It’s not a lethal blow
Anthropologist Frank Rühli from the University of Zurich made new X-rays and CT scans. His results contradict the theory that Otzi was killed by the arrow. In fact, the penetration of the weapon into his shoulder was superficial. He would have broken a blood vessel, but would not have caused lethal internal bleeding or tissue damage.
Although the Tyrolean Iceman would have been in pain, the injury alone would not have been enough to cause death. Similarly, the fractures that some scientists have identified in his skull would not have been fatal. They are probablmently the result of a fall.
Instead, the researcher and his team propose that, badly debilitated after suffering a little blood loss from the arrow, Otzi the Iceman froze to death in the mountains.
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