archeologist have know for over a decade thatÖtzi the Icemanwas kill by an pointer , but new inquiry suggests that the 5,300 - year - old hunter - collector was probably shot from a great distance away , by an foe with whom he had previously clash .
Ötzi met his end after beingfelled by an arrowthat entered through his shoulder and severed a major blood vessel . In preparation for a recent congress to brand 25 years since the discovery of the Iceman ’s mummified stay , the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology lease Chief Inspector Alexander Horn of the Munich Criminal Investigation Department to reopen the investigation into the existence ’s oldest murder case
After consulting with several of the archaeologists that have work withÖtzi , Horn conclude that the dupe of this fatal attack was plausibly incognizant that he was about to be shot , as the evidence suggests he was resting and eating at the moment of his death . This would look to indicate that he was shot from a length .
Furthermore , the fact that he sustained no other injuries during this mortal incident suggests that he was not involved in a struggle . In fact , the only other wound found on Ötzi ’s consistence was a slash on his helping hand that he appears to have suffered a few days before his death , most potential while seek to block a blow from an antagonist . It therefore seems probable that the Iceman scram into a fighting – which he probably won – and therefore made an enemy , who has now become the choice defendant in Horn ’s execution investigation .
Other enquiry present at the group meeting revealed that the metal in a cop ax carried by Ötzi originated in a mine in southerly Tuscany , rather than in the Alpine part where he lived and died . It would seem potential then that he purchased rather than manufactured his weapon , provide grounds of an ancient trade tie-in between the Alps and central Italy .
Interestingly , the fact that he was still in possession of his axe when a group of mountain mounter discovered his body more than 5,000 years by and by indicates that whoeverkilled himdidn’t do so in society to rob him , strengthening the possibility that he was murdered over a score .
