(Which may have been created for therapeutic purposes. Among other things, he’s known for yielding the oldest known human blood, for being a highly fashionable man for his time since he was wearing clothes from five different animal species, and being a “macho man” who had not one or two, but sixty-one tattoos all over his body. Ötzi has been the subject of constant scientific research in these past 25 years and as a result he has been a regular “guest” here on Ancient Origins.
Who was Ötzi and Why is He Important to Science?įrom the early 1990s when Ötzi’s mummified body was discovered in the Italian Alps, scientists have been debating and trying to find the exact cause of death of the 5,300-year-old Tyrolean Iceman.
Researchers claim that his body and head injuries were most likely made during some hard times for the famous Tyrolean Iceman, but those injuries weren’t the cause of his death. A new study suggests that Ötzi the Tyrolean Iceman died of exposure to freezing temperatures in the Italian Alps.