This is the conclusion of the investigation into the oldest « criminal case » known to date (5,300 years). Ötzi, the “ice man” found mummified in the Alps in 1991, was reportedly murdered with an arrow in the back.
Who killed Ötzi, this man whose mummy was perfectly preserved in ice for thousands of years before being discovered in 1991 in the Alps and now kept by the Archaeological Museum of Bolzano, Italy? While this question will probably never be answered, the manner and setting of Ötzi’s murder has just been revealed.
It’s a real criminal investigation that was carried out by Inspector Alexander Horn of the Munich police, who probably did not expect to have to solve a crime thousands of years old. Contacted by the museum, the inspector was able to use current forensic techniques to shed light on a 5,300-year-old murder that took place in the Ötztal Alps (from which it takes its name), at the border between Italy and Austria.
If the hypothesis of the arrow in the back is not new, in particular thanks to the use of X-rays ten years ago, the whole picture is now revealed. » Armed with a wealth of scientific information gathered by the researchers, Inspector Horn has now managed to piece together a remarkably accurate picture of what happened to the Iceman on that fateful day around 3300 BC. AD in the Ötztal Alps writes the New York Times.
At the time of his death, Ötzi must have been 45 years old (within six years), » a respectably old age for the Neolithic « . He was 1.65 meters tall and weighed 50 kilos. His eyes were brown and his hair was dark brown.
In addition to the classic and current techniques of forensic science, certain particularly advanced technologies and exotic disciplines have been employed to solve this mystery such as archaeobotany or paleometallurgy.
Thus, according to the conclusions of the investigation, Ötzi would have been involved in a violent dispute in his village and would have emerged victorious before moving his camp to altitude. And » about half an hour before he died he was having a real meal [cuit]. If you’re in a hurry and trying to run away from someone who’s trying to kill you, that’s not the first thing you done says the inspector.
He would then have been surprised by an archer who would have shot an arrow in his back » at a distance of about 30 meters », explains the inspector. » His goal was clearly to kill him and he chose a long distance shot. He may have drawn the consequences of what happened a day or two before. VSIt looks a lot like what we see today. Most homicides have personal motives and follow violence and escalations of violence Horn adds to the New York Times.