Individuals in Society: The Iceman

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The artifacts found with the body tell scientists much about how the Iceman lived. The Iceman’s shoes, made with a twine framework stuffed with straw and covered with skin, indicate that he used all parts of the animals he hunted. (discovery: Courtesy, Roger Teissl; shoes: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, http://www.iceman.it)

ON SEPTEMBER 19, 1991, TWO GERMAN VACATIONERS climbing in the Italian Alps came upon a corpse lying facedown and covered in ice. Scientists determined that the Iceman, as the corpse is generally known, died 5,300 years ago. He was between twenty-five and thirty-five years old at the time of his death, and he stood about five feet two inches tall. An autopsy revealed much about the man and his culture. The bluish tinge of his teeth showed a diet of milled grain, which proves that he came from an environment where crops were grown. The Iceman hunted as well as farmed: he was found with a bow and arrows and shoes of straw, and he wore a furry cap and a robe of animal skins that had been stitched together with thread made from grass.

The equipment discovered with the Iceman demonstrates that his people mastered several technologies. He carried a hefty copper ax, made by someone with a knowledge of metallurgy. In his quiver were numerous wooden arrow shafts and two finished arrows. The arrows had sharpened flint heads and feathers attached to the ends of the shafts with resin-like glue. Apparently the people of his culture knew the value of feathers to direct the arrow and thus had mastered the basics of ballistics. His bow was made of yew, a relatively rare wood in central Europe that is among the best for archers.

Yet a mystery still surrounds the Iceman. When his body was first discovered, scholars assumed that he was a hapless traveler overtaken in a fierce snowstorm. But the autopsy found an arrowhead lodged under his left shoulder. The Iceman was not alone on his last day. Someone was with him, and that someone had shot him from below and behind. The Iceman is the victim in the first murder mystery in Europe, and the case will never be solved.

QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS

  1. What does the autopsy of the corpse indicate about the society in which the Iceman lived?
  2. How do the objects found with the Iceman support the generalizations about Neolithic society in this chapter?

Document Project

What can artifacts tell us about Neolithic society? Examine the objects found with the Iceman, and then complete a quiz and writing assignment based on the evidence and details from this chapter.