Projects in Archaeometry Tyrolean Iceman

In September 1991 the frozen mummy of a Late Neolithic man has been discovered in an Alpine glacial field near the Austrian-Italian border. The body of this Tyrolean Iceman - nicknamed Ötzi because found in the Ötztaler Alps - exhibits a remarkable preservation. Among the many accompanying objects found near Oetzi were arrows with flintstone arrowheads and a copper hatchet. The old age and the good preservation made the Tyrolean Iceman as well as the accompanying finds a favored object of archaeological research.

The summarized story

The mummy was found on 19 September 1991, ca 1:30 pm, by two German tourists when returning from a trip to mountain Fineilspitze (3514 m) near the trail to the mountain hut Similaunhütte (3017 m). The discovery site is at 3210 m altitude, called Hauslabjoch; a snow- and ice-covered place near the rim of a retreating glacier, at a distance of about 90 m from the Austrian-Italian border - on the Italian side.

The mummy was recovered some days later (23 September, because of bad weather) by Austrian officials and was brought to the University of Innsbruck.

Soon it became clear that the mummy is very old. Naturally mummified by glacial ice, the body survived with many internal organs intact. Ice pressure disfigured the face, and pushed up the left arm. The Iceman was stored in a freezer at the University of Innsbruck, and was - and still is -the subject of many scientific projects (reports in German).

Investigations made evident that the man died about 5200 years ago at an age of about 45 years. He was ca 1.6 m tall and well equipped for a trip to the mountains. He was not healthy but suffered from arterio sclerosis and an intestinal infection by worm eggs. However, these diseases probably were not the reason for his death [1].

In January 1998 the Iceman left Innsbruck in a refrigerated container for his probably final place in Bolzano, Italy. He is now in an archaeological museum in Bolzano on public display.

Recent investigations found an arrowhead - made of stone - in his shoulder and caused new speculations about the situation of his death.

[1] Seidler H., et al: Science 258, 455-457 (1992). Some anthropological aspects on the prehistoric Tyrolean Ice Man.

Iceman projects in

1. Origin of wood pitches used as adhesive on tools and weapons found with the Tyrolean Iceman

In collaboration with

F. Sauter, U. Jordis, A. Graf

Institute of Organic Chemistry, Vienna University of Technology

W. Werther, E. Hayek

LCM, Vienna University of Technology

The weapons of the Tyrolean Iceman, contained traces of organic adhesives, obviously used to fix parts of his weapons (i.e., the flint stone arrowheads and the copper hatchet) to their respective shafts.

In order to prove whether or not these adhesives might be birch bark pitches similar to some other organic materials found in Central and Northern Europe, model pitches were prepared from a number of different trees. Analytical methods were developed to differentiate between the different species of trees.

The analytical sequence consisted in the isolation of a characteristic terpene fraction by Kugelrohr distillation, followed by GC/MS analysis and by application of chemometrics.

It could be shown that the Iceman´s weapons were glued by means of birch bark pitch. To produce this material, bark of the birch was pyrolyzed resulting in a tar, which on further heating was converted into the thermoplastic pitch.

2. Characterization of tissue samples from the Tyrolean Iceman and other well-preserved mummies

In collaboration with

R. Mader, J. Schwarzmeier

Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Vienna

A. Makristathis

Dept. of Clinical Microbiology, Hygiene Institute, Univ. of Vienna

H. Seidler

Institute of Human Biology, University of Vienna

W. Platzer

Institute of Anatomy, University of Innsbruck

H. Unterdorfer, R. Scheithauer

Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Innsbruck

In anthropology, objective parameters to adequately describe the preservation state of mummies have still to be identified. Considering that fatty acids degrade to stable products, we analyzed their profile in samples of the Tyrolean Iceman and other mummies from different epochs and civilizations by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Using chemometric methods, the individual preservation state was easily recognized. Characteristic fatty acid patterns were associated with environmental post-mortem conditions such as dryness, humidity or immersion in water.

== Status from 2001, minor correction 2005-02-09 ==