Ötzi, also known as The Iceman, Similaun Man, or Tyrolean Iceman, is the natural mummy of a man who lived between 3350 and 3105 BC. His remains were found on September 19, 1991, in the Ötztal Alps near the border between Austria and Italy. This location inspired his nickname "Ötzi," which is pronounced "etsi" in German. Ötzi is Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, providing a unique look at people who lived during the Copper Age.

Researchers believe Ötzi was killed by another person because an arrowhead was found in his left shoulder, along with other injuries. Scientists continue to study his life and death to learn more. His body and belongings are displayed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy.

Discovery

Ötzi was discovered on September 19, 1991, by two German tourists at an elevation of 3,210 meters (10,530 feet) on the east ridge of the Fineilspitze in the Ötztal Alps, near the Austrian–Italian border, close to Similaun Mountain and the Tisenjoch pass. When the tourists, Helmut and Erika Simon, first saw the body, they thought they had found a recently deceased mountain climber. The next day, a mountain police officer and the caretaker of the nearby Similaunhütte tried to remove the body, which was frozen in ice below the torso, using a pneumatic drill and ice axes. However, poor weather forced them to stop. Soon after, eight groups visited the site, including mountaineers Hans Kammerlander and Reinhold Messner.

The body was removed on September 22 and taken to the medical examiner’s office in Innsbruck the following day, along with other items found nearby. On September 24, archaeologist Konrad Spindler from the University of Innsbruck examined the discovery. He estimated the find to be "at least four thousand years old" based on the type of axe found among the items. Later, tissue samples from the body and other materials were studied at multiple scientific institutions. These studies confirmed the remains belonged to someone who lived between 3359 and 3105 BC, or about 5,100 years ago. More detailed estimates showed a 66% chance he died between 3239 and 3105 BC, a 33% chance between 3359 and 3294 BC, and a 1% chance between 3277 and 3268 BC.

During recovery efforts and handling, several accidents occurred. The mummy and its belongings were prodded with ski poles and ice picks. The hip area of the body was damaged when a pneumatic drill was used during the first attempt to remove it. Ötzi’s longbow also broke during this attempt, with the bottom part recovered from the ice a year later. Careless handling destroyed many parts of the clothing Ötzi was wearing. The mummy’s left arm broke when the body was forced into a coffin for transportation from Vent to Innsbruck. Fungus began growing on the Iceman’s skin while the body was on a mortuary slab in Innsbruck. Scientists only started working to preserve the mummy after five days.

At the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919, the border between North and South Tyrol was set along the watershed of the Inn and Etsch rivers. Near Tisenjoch, a glacier (which has since moved back) made it difficult to determine the border, which was drawn too far north. Although Ötzi’s discovery site drains toward Austria, land surveys in October 1991 showed the body was located 92.56 meters (101.22 yards) inside Italian territory, matching Italy’s original 1919 claim.

The province of South Tyrol claimed ownership rights but allowed Innsbruck University to complete its research. Since 1998, Ötzi has been displayed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol.

Scientific analyses

The body has been thoroughly studied, measured, X-rayed, and dated. Tissues, intestinal contents, and items found with the body were examined using a microscope. In August 2004, three frozen bodies of Austro-Hungarian soldiers who died during the Battle of San Matteo in 1918 were discovered on Punta San Matteo mountain in Trentino. One body was sent to a museum to help scientists learn how the environment affected its preservation, which might help understand more about Ötzi.

Ötzi was about 160 cm (5 feet 3 inches) tall, weighed around 50 kg (110 pounds), and was about 45 years old when he died. When his body was found, it weighed 13.750 kg (30 pounds 5 ounces). Because his body was covered in ice after his death, it did not decay completely. Early reports said his penis and most of his scrotum were missing, but this was later proven incorrect. Studies of pollen, dust, and the chemical makeup of his tooth enamel suggest he grew up near Feldthurns, a village in South Tyrol, north of Bolzano, but later lived in valleys about 50 kilometers (31 miles) farther north.

In 2009, a CAT scan showed his stomach had moved upward to where his lower lungs would normally be. Analysis of the stomach contents found partly digested ibex meat, confirmed by DNA testing, meaning he had eaten less than two hours before his death. Wheat grains were also found. Scientists think he ate a few slices of dried, fatty meat from a wild goat in South Tyrol, Italy. His intestines contained two meals: one with chamois meat and another with red deer and herb bread, both eaten with roots and fruits. Both meals included highly processed einkorn wheat bran, possibly bread. Near his body, scientists found chaff and grains of einkorn and barley, as well as seeds from flax, poppy, sloes (small plum-like fruits), and wild berries.

Hair analysis showed what he ate in the months before his death. Pollen from his first meal indicated it was eaten in a mid-altitude conifer forest. Other pollen suggested the presence of wheat and legumes, which may have been farmed crops. Pollen from hop-hornbeam was also found. This pollen was well-preserved, showing it was fresh (about two hours old) at the time of his death, which suggests the event happened in spring or early summer. Einkorn wheat is harvested in late summer, and sloes in autumn, so these items must have been stored from the previous year.

High levels of copper and arsenic were found in his hair. This, along with his copper axe blade (99.7% copper), led scientists to believe he worked with copper.

By studying the size of his tibia, femur, and pelvis, scientists think he walked long distances over hilly terrain. This level of movement was unusual for other people in Europe during the Copper Age. This may mean he was a high-altitude shepherd.

Using 3D scanning technology, a facial reconstruction was made for the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. It shows Ötzi looking older than his 45 years, with deep brown eyes, a beard, a furrowed face, and sunken cheeks. He appears tired and unkempt.

Ötzi had a whipworm, an intestinal parasite. CT scans showed his ribs were cracked when he lay face down after death or when ice crushed his body. One of his fingernails had three Beau’s lines, showing he was sick three times in the six months before he died. The last illness lasted about two weeks. His outer skin layer was missing, a natural result of being frozen. His teeth had serious damage from cavities, possibly caused by his diet high in grains and carbohydrates. DNA testing in 2012 showed Ötzi was lactose intolerant, supporting the idea that lactose intolerance was still common at that time. His lungs were blackened by soot, likely from being near fires for warmth and cooking.

Ötzi had 61 tattoos. These were 19 groups of black lines, 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 inches) wide and 7–40 mm (0.28–1.57 inches) long. They included parallel lines along his body, a cross-shaped mark on his right knee and ankle, and lines around his left wrist. Most tattoos were on his legs. Microscopic tests showed the tattoos used pigment made from fireplace ash or soot. In 2024, researchers tested ancient tattooing methods and found Ötzi’s tattoos were likely made using a puncture technique with a bone point or copper tool, not an incision method as previously thought. Scientists think he was tattooed multiple times in the same places, as most tattoos are very dark.

X-rays of his bones showed signs of wear and tear, including issues in areas with tattoos, such as osteochondrosis and slight spondylosis in his lower back and joint damage in his knee and ankle. These tattoos may have been used for pain relief, similar to acupressure or acupuncture, even though these practices were not known in Ötzi’s time. Nine of the tattoos were near or on areas used in modern acupuncture, and others were on meridians or joints with arthritis. His abdominal tattoos may have helped ease pain from his whipworm infection.

At one time, Ötzi was thought to be the oldest tattooed human mummy found. However, in 2018, tattoos were discovered on Egyptian mummies from a similar time period.

Many of Ötzi’s tattoos were hard to see without special tools. In 2015, researchers used noninvasive multispectral imaging to capture images using light wavelengths invisible to the human eye, revealing more tattoos.

Ötzi wore a cloak made of woven grass, a coat, belt, leggings, loincloth, and shoes, all made of leather from different animals. He also wore a bearskin cap with a leather chin strap. His shoes were waterproof and wide, designed for walking on snow. They had bear hide soles, deer hide panels, and bark netting. Soft grass lined the shoes, acting like modern socks. His coat, belt, leggings, and loincloth were made of vertical leather strips sewn together with sinew. His belt had a pouch containing a scraper, drill, flint flake, bone awl, and dried fungus.

The shoes have been recreated by a

Cause of death

The cause of death was not known until 10 years after the body was discovered. At first, people thought Ötzi died from being out in the cold during a winter storm. Later, some suggested he might have been a victim of a ritual sacrifice, possibly because he was a leader. This idea was based on theories about other bodies found in peat bogs, such as Tollund Man and Lindow Man.

In 2001, X-rays and a CT scan showed that Ötzi had an arrowhead in his left shoulder when he died, along with a matching tear in his coat. Researchers believed he died from blood loss caused by the wound, which would likely have been fatal even with modern medicine. Further studies found that the arrow’s shaft had been removed before his death, and the body showed bruises and cuts on the hands, wrists, chest, and head. He had a cut at the base of his thumb from a sharp object that reached the bone. This injury had no scarring, meaning it was fresh when he died. Today, it is thought that Ötzi bled to death after the arrow broke his shoulder blade and damaged nerves and blood vessels near his lung.

DNA tests from 2003 found traces of blood from at least four other people on his belongings: one from his knife, two from an arrowhead in his quiver, and a fourth from his coat. Some interpretations suggest Ötzi killed two people with the same arrow and retrieved it both times, and the blood on his coat came from a wounded companion he may have carried. Ötzi’s position (frozen, face down, left arm across his chest) might support the idea that he was turned onto his stomach before death to remove the arrow shaft. A 2024 study also suggested his arm position could indicate an attempt to slow blood loss. The Cambridge World History of Violence (2020) cited Ötzi as evidence of prehistoric warfare.

Most research assumed Ötzi died where his body was found. In 2010, a study proposed that he may have died at a lower altitude and was later buried higher in the mountains. This idea, by archaeologist Alessandro Vanzetti and colleagues, was based on the items found near Ötzi and their locations. They suggested he might have been placed above a stone formation that could have been a burial mound, but his body moved with each thaw cycle, creating a watery mixture that flowed downhill before freezing again. While archaeobotanist Klaus Oeggl agreed that natural processes likely moved the body from the ridge with the stone formation, he noted the study did not prove the stones formed a burial platform. Biological anthropologist Albert Zink argued that Ötzi’s bones showed no signs of dislocation from a downhill slide and that intact blood clots in his arrow wound would have been damaged if the body had been moved uphill.

Legal dispute

Italian law said the Simons were allowed to get a finder's fee from the South Tyrolean provincial government. The fee was 25% of the value of Ötzi. In 1994, the authorities offered a "symbolic" reward of 10 million lire (€5,200). The Simons refused this offer. In 2003, the Simons filed a lawsuit asking a court in Bolzano to recognize their role in finding Ötzi and to declare them the "official discoverers." The court ruled in favor of the Simons in November 2003. At the end of December that year, the Simons said they wanted US$300,000 as their fee. The provincial government decided to appeal this decision.

Two other people claimed they were part of the same mountaineering group that found Ötzi and that they discovered the body first. In 2005, a Bolzano court heard these rival claims. Mrs. Simon was upset because she said neither of the two women was on the mountain that day. Mrs. Simon's lawyer said in 2005, "Mrs. Simon is very upset by all this and by the fact that these two new claimants appeared 14 years after Ötzi was found." In 2008, Jarc told a Slovene newspaper she had written to the Bolzano court twice about her claim but received no response.

In 2004, Helmut Simon died. In June 2006, an appeals court agreed that the Simons had discovered Ötzi and were therefore entitled to a finder's fee. The court also said the provincial government must pay the Simons' legal costs. After this ruling, Mrs. Erika Simon reduced her claim to €150,000. The provincial government said the costs of creating a museum and preserving Ötzi should be considered when deciding the finder's fee. It said it would pay no more than €50,000. In September 2006, the authorities appealed the case to Italy's highest court, the Court of Cassation.

On 29 September 2008, it was announced that the provincial government and Mrs. Simon had reached a settlement. Under the agreement, Mrs. Simon would receive €150,000 in recognition of her and her late husband's discovery of Ötzi and the tourist income it brings.