The Tragic Demise of the Iceman
Ötzi the iceman existed in Neolithic times more than 5,000 years ago, on the Italian side of the Tisenjoch mountain. That same mountain would later be, unbeknownst to him, the scene of his tragic death. The unbelievable way that the iceman’s body was preserved by the mountain’s cold temperatures after his death has led to incredible scientific discoveries about the time period. Intense research has been conducted on the body to find out details on the life of a Neolithic human. Many questions about the man and the period have been answered, but the largest still remains. Why was the iceman murdered? Although multiple theories have circulated over the years, the belief that the iceman was killed for a higher …show more content…
As said in “Iceman: Hunt for a Killer”, one of these items was an incredibly valuable copper axe, which was most likely a symbol of power (Dir. Brando Quilici). It could be concluded, based on the axe still being there, that the iceman was not killed for his possessions, but rather another motivation. Due to the axe’s implied meaning of power, it’s likely that someone would want to kill Ötzi for his place in the tribe. Alongside the axe, no other objects around the iceman were removed or stolen. Due to this, it can be said that his death was not committed by a random murderer or someone from another tribe, because they most likely would have stolen all of Ötzi’s valuable possessions.
Continuing on, in the article “Iceman”, it explains that the iceman’s injuries included a cut between his pointer finger and thumb, an arrow in his shoulder, and an injury to his brain (Encyclopædia Britannica). The cut suggests that days before his death Ötzi was in a fight, possibly with the person who would later kill him. It’s reasonable to believe that a person in Ötzi’s tribe wasn’t able to kill him in hand to hand battle, so they then chose to follow Ötzi up the mountain and attempt to kill him when he was
Ötzi the iceman existed in Neolithic times more than 5,000 years ago, on the Italian side of the Tisenjoch mountain. That same mountain would later be, unbeknownst to him, the scene of his tragic death. The unbelievable way that the iceman’s body was preserved by the mountain’s cold temperatures after his death has led to incredible scientific discoveries about the time period. Intense research has been conducted on the body to find out details on the life of a Neolithic human. Many questions about the man and the period have been answered, but the largest still remains. Why was the iceman murdered? Although multiple theories have circulated over the years, the belief that the iceman was killed for a higher …show more content…
As said in “Iceman: Hunt for a Killer”, one of these items was an incredibly valuable copper axe, which was most likely a symbol of power (Dir. Brando Quilici). It could be concluded, based on the axe still being there, that the iceman was not killed for his possessions, but rather another motivation. Due to the axe’s implied meaning of power, it’s likely that someone would want to kill Ötzi for his place in the tribe. Alongside the axe, no other objects around the iceman were removed or stolen. Due to this, it can be said that his death was not committed by a random murderer or someone from another tribe, because they most likely would have stolen all of Ötzi’s valuable possessions.
Continuing on, in the article “Iceman”, it explains that the iceman’s injuries included a cut between his pointer finger and thumb, an arrow in his shoulder, and an injury to his brain (Encyclopædia Britannica). The cut suggests that days before his death Ötzi was in a fight, possibly with the person who would later kill him. It’s reasonable to believe that a person in Ötzi’s tribe wasn’t able to kill him in hand to hand battle, so they then chose to follow Ötzi up the mountain and attempt to kill him when he was