Find Famous People Fast!

Browse Bios:

Share on Facebook

Oetzi Iceman Biography

Ancient Human

The prehistoric mountaineer known as the Oetzi Iceman was discovered at a height of 3200 meters (more than 10,000 feet) in the Tyrollean Alps on 19 September 1991. The frozen body was remarkably well preserved and still clad in primitive clothing, including an animal hide coat and grass cape. The body was claimed by Austrian scientists, who determined that he was a Bronze Age man who lived around 3300 B.C. The Iceman was first housed at the University of Innsbruck, but after agreeing that the body was actually found a few meters inside Italian territory, the Austrians transferred the body to Italian care in 1998. The Oetzi Iceman then went on display in a special refrigerated case in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy. In 2001 scientists announced that the Iceman probably died from wounds inflicted by an arrowhead found in his left shoulder.

Other primitive people on Who2 include Kennewick Man and Arlington Springs Woman.

Four Good Links

Ötzi

Many details from an avid fan of mummies

Iceman Probably Killed by Own People

November 2002 BBC report; see previous stories in right column

The Oetzi Iceman

Several photos included in this description

Plants and the Iceman

A professor tells the tale, emphasizing local mosses (!)

Vital Stats

Birth

c. 3300 B.C.

Birthplace

Italy (?)

Death

c. 3300 B.C.
(stabbing)

Best Known As

The iceman found in the Alps in 1991

Something in Common with Oetzi Iceman