1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Missed in History class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: I'm Fair Dowdy and I'm Deblina choklate boarding and while 4 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: Debilina and I were preparing our end of the year 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: historical news episodes, Debilina let me know about a story 6 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: I had missed in two eleven. Let's see, the Iceman 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: had a girlfriend. I know this was news to me, 8 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: so it's not a situation like another big news story 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 1: from eleven one that I did manage to catch. The 10 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: Roman Era Romeo and Juliette of Medina, who are two 11 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: skeletons found kind of romantically buried next to each other, 12 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: holding hands, staring into each other's face. Archaeologists have not 13 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: unearthed a lady at sea lying next to the iceman, 14 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: which is what I was imagining. I was thinking, how 15 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: have they missed another ice Boddie there since nineteen? I mean, 16 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: more importantly, how have you missed it? Because I didn't 17 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: realize this, but Sarah Dowdy has an Utsi obsession. It's 18 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: not a Nutzi obsession. You have a crush on the iceman. No, 19 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: that would just be Groad. He's five thousand years old. 20 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: I mean, he's an interesting guy, and I think that 21 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: interest will be conveyed later in this episode. That first, 22 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: to clear up matters on Nutsy's girlfriend. She's just in 23 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: the same general area and from the same general time period, 24 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: but we're going to talk about her a little more 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: at the end of the episode. Well. Researching that story though, 26 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: to Blean and I realized that has really been where 27 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: was kind of a banner year for Iceman News in general. 28 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: There were theories that came out about how he lived 29 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: and how he died that completely turned earlier theories upside down. 30 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: So how about a new episode, an entire episode on 31 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: everybody's favorite copper age man, including I mean, he's got 32 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: to be your favorite copper age and to if you 33 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: narrow it down like that, He's definitely falls into that 34 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: category for me. But it's just an interesting story too. 35 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: I mean, it spans five thousand, three hundred years with 36 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: all these twists and turns and a deep freeze in 37 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,399 Speaker 1: the middle of course. So we usually start off these 38 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: podcasts with, um, you know, the early years of our subject. 39 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: We can't exactly do that for this episode, so we 40 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: will start with the discovery of Utsee instead, which happened 41 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: September nineteenth. Two German hikers Erica and Helmett Simon, were 42 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: out enjoying some fine weather in the up Stall Alps, 43 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: near the border of Austria and Italy, and they decided 44 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: to take a little shortcut and wound up walking past 45 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: a gully filled with melted snow. And of course there's 46 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: all this white snow, white ice everywhere. But something brown 47 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: caught their eye and they thought maybe it was trash, 48 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 1: and they went over and looked at it. No, it 49 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: was much more horrifying than that. It was a dead 50 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 1: body with a few pieces of birch bark around it, 51 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: so how scary. They figured it was a dead hiker, 52 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: someone who had gotten lost in the gully in recent years, 53 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,519 Speaker 1: something like that, something very alarming. So the Simons took 54 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: a photo and then they left to report their findings 55 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: to the authorities. The next day, men with drills arrived 56 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: to chip away the ice, still holding the body's lower 57 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: torso and legs, so, not realizing that this was a 58 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: stunningly rare archaeological find, they damaged the body's hip and 59 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: had to abandon their efforts as the weather started to 60 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: turn bad. So by the next day some people were 61 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: starting to notice that this body was not clothed in 62 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: like hiker gear from the eighties or something. It was 63 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: then some decidedly old fashioned looking garments. Still, though, nobody 64 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: really had much time to think because the weather was 65 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: getting worse and worse and it was making the extraction 66 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: a real nightmare. But by September twenty three the body 67 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: was finally removed, and of course no archaeologists were present 68 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: to witness it because they didn't think that this was 69 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: an archaeological matter at the at that time. There was 70 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: one lucky catch though, The whole thing was filmed by 71 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,679 Speaker 1: the Innsbruck University Institute of Forensic Medicine, which has really 72 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: been a useful document for researchers later on. The frozen corps, 73 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: along with some of the string and hide and the 74 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: acts near his body were then flown to another area 75 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: of Austrian were ordered under the direction of the local prosecutor, 76 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: to the Institute of Forensic Medicine. So at this point 77 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: everybody is still operating under the assumption that this was 78 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: not an ancient body, it was a poor, unfortunate hiker, 79 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: and it wasn't until six days after the mummy was 80 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: found that an archaeologist was finally summoned in to check 81 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: things out. It was Conrad Spindler of Innsbruck University, and 82 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: after reviewing the body and the acts, he came out 83 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: and said he he was sure that it was at 84 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: least four thousand years old. So of course this sort 85 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: of changed the situation, change matters a bit, and authorities 86 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: started trying to figure out who was actually in charge 87 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: of the body because we mentioned earlier that the Simons 88 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: had been hiking near the Austrian Italian border, and of 89 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: course the presence of glaciers can make border determination a 90 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: little bit tricky sometimes. Just a few weeks after the discovery, 91 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: a new border study came out that said definitively the 92 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: find had been located not in Austria but in Italy, 93 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: only ninety two from the border, so that changed things 94 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: a little bit. Still, the province of South te Roll, 95 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: now responsible for the body, was content to allow the 96 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: first forensic examinations to take place in Austria. Scientists at 97 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: Ennsbruck cut the iceman's torso and also made cuts on 98 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: his back, the top of the skull and his legs, 99 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: so they've kind of destroyed parts of the body a little. Yeah. 100 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: Researchers today call those invasive procedures the Austrian windows. And 101 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen they went back into Once weather got better 102 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: and everything they had to wait about a year. They 103 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: went back and a few other key artifacts were recovered 104 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,799 Speaker 1: at the scene, like a fingernail, a bear skin, hat, 105 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: some hair, some grasses, and Sea fourteen analysis also later 106 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: confirmed spindler suspicion that the mummy was at least four 107 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: thousand years old. Turned out he was a lot older 108 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: than that. As we've already mentioned, it had been about 109 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: five thousand, three hundred years since this Copper age guy 110 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: had died out there on the ice. That made him 111 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,039 Speaker 1: older than the Pharaoh's, older than most of the bog 112 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: bodies in Europe, so truly a unique fine for archaeologists. 113 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: The Iceman's Great Age made the media go crazy. I mean, 114 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: you can probably remember Iceman specials on TV from years ago, 115 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,360 Speaker 1: plus all questions about him. Who was he, how did 116 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: he die? Was he a shepherd, a shaman or an outlaw? 117 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: Was he a vegetarian? Was he sacrificed? Some speculated that 118 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: he was a hoax, maybe an Egyptian or Peruvian mummy 119 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: stuck in the ice. Others realized he was more than 120 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: just a passing news story, and that he needed a name. 121 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: Viennese journalist Carl Wendel was the first to coin the 122 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: name Utsie, from the valley where the body came from. 123 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: But it wasn't just Utsie's great age and the mystery 124 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: surrounding his life and death that made him such an 125 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: impressive useful find. He was what the South Tyrol Museum 126 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: of Archaeology calls a wet mummy, which means a mummy 127 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: whose cells aren't desiccated. So normally you would think of 128 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: Egyptian mummies they're kind of almost like dust, and um 129 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: Utsi's non dust like makeup means that he could be 130 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: subjected to scientific procedures without just crumbling away. So after 131 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: all of these years, more than five thousand years, he's 132 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: still a bit elastic. You can kind of perform living 133 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: human or recently dead human type refutures on him. So 134 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: over the next decade that's he had X rays, CT scans, 135 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: studies of his mitochondrial DNA, bone and tooth analysis, and 136 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: a thorough analysis of any pollen on in or near 137 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: his body, and so bit by bit, this picture of 138 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: the iceman started to emerge. They found out he was 139 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: five ft two. He had been raised in the Azarco 140 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: River Valley but lived in the Venosta Valley. He was 141 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: old for a copper aged man, so he was about 142 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: forty five years old, and he had the aches and 143 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: pains to prove it. He had healed rib fractures, healed 144 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: broken nose, worn down molars, but no tooth decay. I 145 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: find that quite impressive. I think there's maybe a secret 146 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: there to be learned or something. No Coca cola or 147 00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 1: something in his But he had hardened arteries also. So 148 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: he also had bow real lines on his fingernails, and 149 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: those meant that he had had some kind of major 150 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: stress or illness eight weeks, thirteen weeks, in sixteen weeks 151 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: before he died. Sometimes if you go through um some 152 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: serious illness, your fingernails stopped growing and it leaves behind 153 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: this little line. He also had tattoos covering his body, 154 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: but not decorative tattoos. They were small charcoal crosses and lines, 155 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: and they were located on the knees, ankles, wrists, in steps, calves, 156 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: lower back, you know places where if you were a 157 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,199 Speaker 1: forty five year old, especially a forty five year old 158 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: copper age man, he might have some chronic pain, and 159 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: some of these spots even correspond to acupuncture points, so 160 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: researchers really do believe that they were some kind of 161 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: remedy for for pain he was experiencing. His copper acts 162 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: probably meant that he was high status, but the high 163 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: levels of arsenic in his body also suggest that he 164 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 1: might have been directly involved in copper metalworking. He had 165 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 1: a few genetic anomalies um including missing twelve ribs and 166 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: no wisdom teeth, and a few ailments too. He had 167 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 1: a whip worm infestation and possibly fleet I think a 168 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: couple flea bodies were found on his person, no big 169 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: surprise there. But he also might have been able or 170 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 1: might have been equipped to handle at least the whipworm infestation. 171 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: Among his gear where these hide strips with birch fungus attached, 172 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: and birch fungus is uh. It has antibiotic properties that 173 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: can help fight intestinal parasites and was used until pretty 174 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: recently to to do so in some areas of the world, 175 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: so he had his own medicine with them. He had 176 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: a little medicine kit. He was also well dressed for 177 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: the chili spring weather in which he died. He wore 178 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 1: a loincloth, leggings, and a jacket, all made from hide. 179 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: He sported a woven grass cape and the aforementioned bear 180 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:03,960 Speaker 1: skin hat. He also had some gear with him. He 181 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: carried a dagger and a tender kit with a flint 182 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 1: from about hundred and fifty kilometers away, which suggested some 183 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: sophisticated copper age trade had gone on. Still, though, you know, 184 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: we've figured out a lot, that's a lot of information 185 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: about this guy who has been dead for so long, 186 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: but fingernails don't really answer questions about who he was, like, 187 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,840 Speaker 1: what did he do, and maybe most intriguingly, why did 188 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 1: he die alone in the mountains. So since the body 189 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:35,080 Speaker 1: was found on a traditional herding route, a lot of 190 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: folks initially thought that he might have been a shepherd. 191 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: He might have been out there tending his herds. But 192 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:45,080 Speaker 1: aside from the grass cloak, which is traditional shepherd's gear, 193 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: he didn't have any other equipment. There was no wool, 194 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:52,120 Speaker 1: there was no crook, no dog here, no animals around 195 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,719 Speaker 1: him either. So a few other ideas have popped up 196 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: over the years, including a shaman you mentioned that one earlier, 197 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: although he had no rich objects on his person, a 198 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: flint trader but no trade goods, an outlaw that's an 199 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: exciting one. Prospector he didn't have any good tools for that, 200 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 1: or a hunter. So a lot of these theories have 201 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: sort of come in and out of fashion with no 202 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: real definitive answers. But the question of how he died 203 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: did get a big push in July two thousand one 204 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: when researchers Paul Goffner and Eduard Garterer vehicle announced that 205 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: new X rays showed an arrowhead buried in Let's shoulder, 206 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 1: and they couldn't determine at the time how long it 207 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:40,839 Speaker 1: would have taken for that arrowhead to kill him, but 208 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: they could say that he had been shot in the back, 209 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: So then the plot thickened. In two thousand five went 210 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: a garter vehicle and Andrea S. G near Lish of 211 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:54,439 Speaker 1: the Ludwig Maximilian University and Munich announced a sizeable defensive 212 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: stab wound that had been found on Utzie's right palm. 213 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: It was partly healed. He had received three to eight 214 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: days before death. So this information, combined with a CT 215 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: scan suggesting Utzy died on an empty stomach led to 216 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: a new narrative of Utzy's last days. The iceman had 217 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: had a fight, sustained a cut to his hand, and 218 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: then fled through this Analis valley toward an alpine pass 219 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: before his enemies caught up with him and polished him off. 220 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,079 Speaker 1: So yeah, that was the theory for a few years, 221 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: and Gossner eventually retired, but he just kept on looking 222 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: at old Iceman CT scans. So there's a that's an 223 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: Iceman obsession for you, de Blina. But it it ended 224 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: up paying off because in two thousand nine, according to 225 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: a National and Geographic story by steven S Hall, Gossner 226 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,959 Speaker 1: decided that the iceman's empty stomach was really his empty colon, 227 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: and his actual stomach looked like it may have been 228 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: pushed up under his ribs. So the big question now, 229 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: was there anything in it? Because if there was, that 230 00:13:55,559 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: would dramatically change the working narrative. So planned were made 231 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: to do a total investigation of the iceman, unlike any 232 00:14:04,559 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: previous examination, really kind of an autopsy performed while the 233 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: iceman was in a state of flight melt, and everything 234 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: would take place through the Austrian windows you mentioned earlier 235 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: made in nineteen so there would be no new incisions, 236 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: no damage done to the body. In November two tho, 237 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: after a marathon session, researchers came away with one hundred 238 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: and forty nine new samples and promptly refroze et sea. 239 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: It's likely to take years to analyze all the findings, 240 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: but two thousand eleven already showed major work, so by 241 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: June two thousand eleven, the iceman's genome had been sequenced, 242 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: revealing that he was closely related to Southern Europeans of today, 243 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: had lime disease, congenital risk factors for heart disease or stroke, 244 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: was lactose intolerant, and had brown hair and brown eyes, 245 00:14:55,640 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: not blue as earlier believed. And in August it came 246 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: out in the Journal of Archaeological Science that Letsi had 247 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 1: not in fact died hungry. Within just a few hours 248 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 1: of his death, he had eaten a hearty meal of ibex, 249 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: making the old on the run theory really pretty unlikely, 250 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: and replacing it with one of a giant lunch, post 251 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: lunch relaxation and then suddenly an arrow in the back 252 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: and in a quote given to the Iceman Museum. Albert 253 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 1: Zinc of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy, 254 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: explained that Utsi's stomach had shifted after his death under 255 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: his ribs, and that concealed it, of course, during the 256 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: earlier examinations. And he also said quote the Iceman wouldn't 257 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 1: have been able to have a large meal under the 258 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: heavy stress of a chase. It much more appears that 259 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: he considered the situation safe enough to rest and eat 260 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: a heavy meal after the strenuous ascent. Shortly afterward, he 261 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: could have moved a short distance away from his place 262 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: breast and was killed by a surprise ambush from behind. 263 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: So there was another major discovery from that two thousand 264 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: and ten examination. The body showed a pool of blood 265 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: at the back of the brain. This could have been 266 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: from a fall after the fatal arrow shot or a 267 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: knock in the head. They're not sure. I think the 268 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: National Geographic article called it a kudoo grass, perhaps from 269 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: Utsi's killer, so who knows. But it's really fascinating to 270 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 1: me that the narrative surrounding this five thousand, three year 271 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: old man can change so much in two decades. I 272 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: think that's the part of the story that that appeals 273 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: to me. And it's just so interesting. It's really easy 274 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: to find quotes that are retrospectively of Note two, and 275 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: you have examination after examination with new finds, new findings 276 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: turning up around every corner. In two thousand five, for instance, 277 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: James H. Dixon, Claus Ogle, and Linda L. Hanley wrote 278 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: for Scientific American, quote an autopsy would be too destructive 279 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: that didn't turn out to be true. And then into 280 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: a thousand two in an article titled time to leave 281 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,919 Speaker 1: uts the alone for The Lancet, David Sharp wrote, quote, 282 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,239 Speaker 1: I cannot help wondering if there will soon be a 283 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,400 Speaker 1: limit to what the tiralee and iceman can usefully tell us. 284 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: I mean that was back in two thousand two, just 285 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 1: a year after the arrowhead discovery came out, and it 286 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 1: doesn't seem like there are any limits yet. No, not 287 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: at all. And you really do find a record similar 288 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,320 Speaker 1: to that where big discoveries are made. People wonder if 289 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: there's anything else that can possibly be revealed from this 290 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: poor guy who's been poked and prodded and studied for 291 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 1: sny years, and then another huge finding comes out, so 292 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,439 Speaker 1: We rarely cover pre history topics on this podcast, but 293 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: we do often discuss speculative subjects Spring Heeled Jack, the 294 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,959 Speaker 1: Mad Trapper, the Sister's Fox, for example. This topic was 295 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,959 Speaker 1: so much more science centered than those, but almost just 296 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,919 Speaker 1: as speculative, because, for one thing, it's hard to get 297 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: much out of and even miraculously preserved five thousand, three 298 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: hundred year old body. Also, technology has advanced remarkably in 299 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,239 Speaker 1: the twenty years since us he was first found, So 300 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: I mean, just imagine if he had been discovered in 301 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century or even the nineteen sixties or nineteen seventies, 302 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: it would have been a different story. But what makes 303 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,239 Speaker 1: us He's so important to researchers is not just the 304 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: fact that his cells aren't all dried up or that 305 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,120 Speaker 1: he is more than five thousand years old. He's an 306 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:32,199 Speaker 1: accidental death, and he died unburied, so he kind of 307 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: gives a day in the life of picture of the 308 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: copper age instead of another study of copper age burials. 309 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: He died wearing presumably everyday clothes, carrying everyday objects, having 310 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 1: just eaten his Big I Beck lunch presumably everyday fair. 311 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: So even if researchers don't figure out what exactly he 312 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: did for a living or the exact rundown of how 313 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,359 Speaker 1: he died. He does offer a peek at copper Age 314 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 1: life that we really wouldn't have had otherwise. But this 315 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: whole thing started because of news of zs girlfriend. So 316 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: what was her deal? Well, according to Discovery News, a 317 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: female skeleton was found during the construction of a kindergarten 318 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: in Italy. It was a near a favorite vacation spot 319 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: of the late Pope John Paul the Second and current 320 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: Pope Benedict the sixteenth. So the site is near South Tyrol, 321 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: just a few hundred miles away from where Letsi was found, 322 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: and the skeleton is approximately the same age as Letsy. 323 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: Thus why she has a couple of nicknames, and one 324 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,080 Speaker 1: of the main ones is A's girlfriend. So, now that 325 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: we've talked about both the iceman and the Iceman's girlfriend, 326 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,840 Speaker 1: I think that's a good point to transition to listener mail. 327 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: So we got a letter from Adam, and we should 328 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: just note first of all that it is a letter 329 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: written on the back of a um like a little 330 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:01,680 Speaker 1: coloring chart for St. Nicholas Day. It's kind of like 331 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:06,679 Speaker 1: a little devil with a a poker and everything. Adam 332 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: wrote first a note about the stationary I live in 333 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: the Czech Republic, which is an hour's drive north of Prague, 334 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: that the town he lives in. I'm from Oregon, but 335 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:20,159 Speaker 1: I've been teaching English to little children here for several years. 336 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,160 Speaker 1: This paper I use as an example in a lesson 337 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: about colors because it is pretty colorful red, orange, yellow, black. Um. 338 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 1: But he also mentioned that St. Nicholas Day is a 339 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 1: big holiday in the Czech Republic. Um it's on December six, 340 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,959 Speaker 1: and we just missed it not too long ago. I 341 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 1: consider doing an episode on St. Nicholas for this year's 342 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: UM Christmas themed podcast. Much requested. It is much requested. 343 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: Maybe some other time, but anyway. Adam also sent us 344 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:54,720 Speaker 1: a pack of Empress CC playing cards, and that's why 345 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 1: I decided to read this listener meal since another Austrian 346 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 1: story or Austro Hungarian Empire story. So um, thank you. 347 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: Maybe at Deplina and I will have a round of 348 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 1: Crazy Eights or something after we finished recording, but we 349 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 1: have one more little bit of information on at Sea 350 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: before we leave. You guys, and you won't want to 351 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: miss this it's a curse, because of what kind of 352 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 1: mummy story would be complete without a curse? Is so true? 353 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: So according to a two thousand five BBC articles, seven 354 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: people connected to the mummy have died, some not far 355 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: from where UTSI was found, including Helmett Simon who died 356 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: in a winter storm. And of course many many people 357 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: have worked with LETSI over the years, and no study 358 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: has been done on their rate of survival as it 359 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: was done for the King tut curse. But maybe that's next. Yeah, 360 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: maybe we'll We'll stay tuned on this one. And as 361 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:55,360 Speaker 1: I think we've mentioned on maybe the McBeth curse episode, 362 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: I hope that curses like this don't extend to podcasters. 363 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: Knock on wood, uh to Blina is like I didn't 364 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 1: know what I was getting into. Um. Anyway, we'll leave 365 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,119 Speaker 1: on that note, vicious luck, And if you have anything 366 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,480 Speaker 1: else you want to share about the Iceman, you can 367 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: email us that history podcast at how stuff works dot com. 368 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: We're also on Twitter at Myston History, and we are 369 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: on Facebook. And if you want to learn a little 370 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,680 Speaker 1: more about another famous curse, I wrote an article several 371 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 1: years ago called is there really a curse on King 372 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: Tut's tomb and as I mentioned, that's a curse that 373 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: has been studied. There's statistical analysis relating to it, so 374 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,120 Speaker 1: you can look that one up by searching for King 375 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: Tut on our homepage at www dot how stuff works 376 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: dot com. Be sure to check out our new video podcast, 377 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: Stuff from the Future. Join how Stuff Work staff as 378 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,160 Speaker 1: we explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. 379 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 1: The house Stuff Works iPhone app has a ride downloaded 380 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: toy on iTunes.