Name: A 5,300-year-old murder mystery - Albert Zink
Uploaded: 2023-08-19T17:16:15.000Z
Duration: 5 min 9 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

On September 19th, 1991, two hikers traversing the Ötzal Alps

on the border of Austria and Italy discovered a corpse emerging from the ice.

Researchers soon realized they weren't looking at the victim

of a recent climbing accident, as initially assumed,

but the mummified body of a man who'd lived about 5,300 years ago,

One early theory for Ötzi's alpine death was that he was a local shepherd or hunter

However, a shocking discovery eventually revealed his true cause of death

Over the millennia, the Alpine cold  and sun protected Ötzi's body

from decomposition,  freezing and drying it out in cycles,

and leaving critical clues for researchers.

Ötzi was about 160 centimeters tall, weighed some 50 kilograms,

He led an active life but had a strong genetic predisposition

His intestines were also parasitized by whipworms

and his stomach contained ulcer-causing bacteria,

all of which might have caused some unpleasant symptoms.

He died hundreds of years before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid

Ötzi lived during the late Neolithic Copper Age,

when metal extraction and crafting practices

Indeed, along with stone arrowheads and knives,

Ötzi carried an axe made of copper from what is now Tuscany.

Swaths of his clothing were made of sheep and goat leather,

all of which suggested that Ötzi's people relied on certain domesticated animals

And when researchers  inspected Ötzi's skin

Interestingly, the markings corresponded with areas of Ötzi's body

like from degeneration observed in his knees, ankles, and spine.

Researchers think that the tattoos might have been intended as treatment—

Close scrutiny also clarified the circumstances of Ötzi's death—

and led to a tantalizing prehistoric murder mystery.

A decade into studying Ötzi, a CT scan picked up a crucial detail:

there was a flint arrowhead lodged in Ötzi's left shoulder.

Soon enough, researchers started piecing Ötzi's final days together.

A deep cut wound on Ötzi's hand showed initial signs of healing

and must have occurred just days before his death.

It was likely a defensive wound which indicated that Ötzi was attacked

with a sharp blade but fought back and survived.

Ötzi may have dressed the wound with bog moss,

which has antiseptic properties and was found with his remains.

Meanwhile, the types and location of pollen in Ötzi's digestive tract

indicated that it was spring or early summer

and that his last three days were hectic.

Ötzi was at an altitude of around 2,500 meters,

he descended to at least 1,200 meters, to a zone of warmth-loving trees.

In his final hours, Ötzi reached an altitude of around 3,000 meters

where grasses, sedges, and certain wildflowers dominated.

His last meal included a large helping of dried wild ibex, roe deer, and grains.

Then, despite Ötzi's apparent efforts to escape the conflict,

someone at a distant vantage shot him from behind.

The arrow pierced a major artery and embedded itself in his left shoulder,

his remains and all his belongings left undisturbed in the glacier for millennia.

This 5,300-year-old cold case has offered invaluable glimpses into the distant past.

But the mystery of who exactly Ötzi was and why he was killed

the tangible evidence for the act degraded and carried away,