Otzi

Question 1

who discovered Otzi?

Answer 1

Erika and Helmut Simon

Question 2

When was Otzi discovered?

Answer 2

Otzi was discovered in 19 September, 1991.

Question 3

how did they get otzi out of the ice?

Answer 3

since they thought the body was a person who had recently died, the police were called not historians or archeologists so they used ski poles to remove otzi from the ice

Question 4

how was Otzi discovered?

Answer 4

Otzi was discovered when two hikers went off track when walking the Otzal Alps (on the border of Italy and Austria) And they found his body in the ice

Question 5

What are the various articles of clothing found near Otzi?

Answer 5

The articles of clothing that were found near Otzi was shoes that were made from grass, leggings made of leather an a cloak (coat) made from leather and grass.

Question 6

what were some of otzi’s health issues?

Answer 6

otzi had lyme disease, heart disease, arthritis, he was lactose intolerant, he had bled in his brain and had a cut on his hand and he had an arrow head in his shoulder

Question 7

what items were found near Otzi?

Answer 7

Backpack
Leather pouch
First aid kit with tree fungus used as medicine
Maple leaves for starting fires
Knife
Bow and arrows but some were unfinished
Quiver
Axe made from copper and yew wood handle

Question 8

Explain the theory on how Otzi’s body was preserved.?

Answer 8

Otzi was discovered after a glacier melted. He was preserved (frozen) in the glacier and protected between two rocks.

Question 9

what caused otzi’s health issues?

Answer 9

Otzi’s lyme disease was caused by tic’s, his heart arteries hardened causing heart disease, since cows milk was rare in the copper age otzi and many others were lactose intolerant and the cut on his hand, blood on his brain and arrow head in his shoulder shows that he could have been in a fight before he died.

Question 10

What methods are used to study Otzi?

Answer 10

• DNA analysis – they help to discover more about Otzi using DNA testing etc.
• X-rays – helped to identify the broken things with Otzi’s body and helps analyse the remaining things left of Otzi.
• CT scans – to find out how he died (roughly) and what the damage has done because of his death.
• Carbon 14 dating/Radio carbon dating
• Pathology tests
• Archaeologists studies his belongings

Question 11

what were the physical features of Otzi’s body?

Answer 11

• He had an arrowhead in his shoulder (which hit a major artery)
• His eye colour was brown, and his hair was brown as well.
• His leg muscles and hip bones were worn down from walking
• He had bled on the brain suggesting trauma to the head
• He had arthritis in his left knee
• He was lactose intolerant
• He had recently cut his hand the wound suggested it was a knife, Perhaps in a fight
• Analysis suggested his heart arteries were hardened and he had heart disease
• Pollen from different altitudes was found in his intestines suggesting he was recently on the move
• Grain, meat (mountain goat), and corn was found in his intestines suggesting he had recently eaten

Question 12

Explain the evidence and hypothesis about Otzi’s death?

Answer 12

Since 2007, there has been evidence that Otzi was shot with an arrowhead in his shoulder, that hit an artery and it is believed that he bled to death but may have also suffered concussion from hitting his head on a rock.

Question 13

What were the problems experienced when recovering the body?

Answer 13

There was no historian or archaeologist present so when they began the excavation, they used ski poles (his body was immersed in ice)
Some people took some of Otzi’s items as souvenirs

Question 14

Why is the discovery of Otzi important for historians?

Answer 14

• The discovery of Otzi is important for historians as it revealed that the copper age was more advanced that initially thought and occurred earlier.
• Otzi’s discovery provides historians with an insight into everyday life during the copper age, weapons, tools, clothing, medication, illness and disease plus travel.
• Otzi’s discovery provides historians with an insight into human health during the copper age in particular disease (Lyme disease and heart disease), diet (lactose intolerance), DNA and bones (arthritis).
• As Otzi is the most well-preserved, and the oldest, to be discovered historians can gain and understanding of the time in which he lived and also how bodies have evolved and how evidence can be preserved.

Question 14

what was otzi’s diet? what did he eat before he died?

Answer 14

when historians looked through otzi’s stomach they found dried meat and fat, red deer, wheat, mountain goat and traces of toxic fern. Otzi ate 2 meals before he died