June 7
GENEVA - A prehistoric hunter known as Oetzi whose well-preserved body was found on a snow-covered mountain in the Alps died more than 5,000 years ago after being struck in the back by an arrow, scientists said in an article published Wednesday.

Oetzi, also known as the Iceman, caused a sensation after his body was discovered by hikers in 1991 on a glacier 10,500 feet above sea level on the border between Austria and Italy.

The body has provided researchers with a wealth of information about the late Neolithic Age, or 3,300 to 3,100 B.C. Archaeologists believe Oetzi, who was carrying a bow, a quiver of arrows and a copper ax, may have been a hunter or warrior killed in a skirmish with a rival tribe.

The findings confirm earlier suspicions that linked the arrowhead embedded in Oetzi's body with his death, and virtually rule out other theories that he had been the victim of a ritual sacrifice or had gotten caught in a storm.

They've applied noninvasive techniques from medical imaging to a specific question and have confirmed that it was the arrow which killed Oetzi, without having to thaw him out.

go

Thats fascinating.
I'd love to see pictures of how they did it.
I'm sure it'll be on the discovery channel eventually! haha

this is many years old....sorry to burst your bubble

The ice man was 5000 years old, he was discovered in 1991, but this story is new actually.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6727665.stm

Ahem, I quote...

"Recent advances in computerised tomography (CT), a sophisticated X-ray scan that allows multidimensional imaging, have given researchers an unprecedented view of Oetzi's internal anatomy.
The pictures reveal a 13mm-long rip in Oetzi's left subclavian artery which lies just under the collar bone.

Blood poured out into the surrounding tissue, forming a haematoma that can be seen in the breast cavity.

"We can conclude that this was really a deadly hit from the arrowhead," Dr Ruhli told the BBC News website. "He would not have walked around for days. It was a quick death. "

Interestingly (Probably more relevant to the urban legends forum) Oetzi has a curse attached to him!

http://www.crystalinks.com/oetzi.html

"Curse

Seven people loosely related to Ötzi's discovery or research have subsequently died, leading some to believe in a curse while others believe that mountain climbers are risk takers and often die early of accidental causes. It should be noted that there are other numerous researchers and scientists working closely with Ötzi's body who have not died in the 14 years since his discovery.


1. The "curse" began in 1992 with the death of Dr. Rainer Henn, 64, who was the head of the forensic team who examined the body. He died when his car was in a head-on collision with another vehicle while on his way to give a talk about Otzi.
2. The second "victim" is mountaineer Kurt Fritz, who led Dr. Henn and the others to the iceman's body and later gave tours to the site. Like other experienced climbers, he died in an avalanche at a mountain region he was familiar with.

3. Austrian journalist Rainer Hoelzl was the third "victim". He exclusively covered the removal of the body as part of a one-hour documentary that was shown around the world. But he developed a mystery illness - thought to be a brain tumor - that claimed his life in extreme pain a few months after the programme was shown.

4. The fourth "victim" is the German tourist Helmut Simon, who found the body. The hiker returned to the region to celebrate winning a £50,000 court battle over rights to the mummy. He set out in fine weather but a blizzard set in and he fell approximately 100 meters into a deep ravine, some 200 kilometers from the place where Otzi perished. He had not signed the court papers so his widow did not get the £50,000.

5. Dieter Warnecke was the head of the mountain rescue team that searched for Helmut Simon. He died at age 45 of a heart attack less than an hour after Helmut Simon was buried.

6. The 6th victim was archaeologist Konrad Spindler - the leading expert on the 5,300-year-old corpse. The Austrian expert had dismissed the link between the five previous deaths. He declared: "I think it's a load of rubbish. It is all a media hype. The next thing you will be saying I will be next." He died in April 2005 at age 66 of ALS, a pre-existing chronic condition.

7. In October 2005 the "curse" claimed its seventh "victim" - the 63-year old Dr Tom Loy died prior to finishing a book on Otzi. He was the seventh person to die who had been in close contact with the mummy.

The Innsbruck professor Friedrich Tiefenbrunner died during open-heart surgery in January 2005. Tiefenbrunner belonged to Spindler's team and had found a method to protect Otzi's mummy against bacterial and fungal attack."

This may be new information regarding the speed of his death, but the arrowhead, and associated cause of death, was identified years ago as the earlier poster alluded to.

And from the OP

"The findings confirm earlier suspicions that linked the arrowhead embedded in Oetzi's body with his death, and virtually rule out other theories that he had been the victim of a ritual sacrifice or had gotten caught in a storm."

The new findings confirmed earlier suspicions. Therefore, this is new.

guys, i have a book called "Iceman" I got it at least four years ago and it was all about the finding and death of Oetzi or whatever. Also if that isn't enough discovery had a show on it last year or the year before on the same subject. So this is indeed at least a year old. But the book goes back 4 years. And it also mentions death by arrow.

hmm, didnt think they had bows and arrows back then, maybe they did, but i forgot. . . cool find owls, hope iceman;s tribe won

From my previous post (and the OP)...

"The findings confirm earlier suspicions that linked the arrowhead embedded in Oetzi's body with his death"

Anyways, I was reading that he had several tattoos on his body, mainly above his joints. It was also discovored that he had arthritis and his tattoos were meant as a possible treatment for this. I find that really interesting and I wonder if there's any medical basis in it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otzi

that was amazing....