The copper of the ax of the ancient man Özie fell into the Alps from the center of Italy

In 1991, in the Ötztal Alps ( Tyrol , Austria), the frozen mummy of a man of the age of chalcolith was found frozen into the ice. The remains were found at an altitude of 3200 meters. Anthropologists managed to find out that the age of the mummy is about 5300 years. At the moment - this is the oldest mummy of man, discovered in Europe.

In 2011, genetics succeeded in sequencing the complete Ezi genome. After that, scientists conducted a comparative DNA analysis of about 4 thousand people from Tyrol, a region in Austria. It turned out that 19 people are distant relatives of Öcie. Next to Ötzy lay a perfectly preserved copper ax. Now experts have found that the copper of this ax was mined in one of the central regions of Italy, and not in local deposits.

In addition to the ax, Ötzi had stone tools , including Moustier tips for arrows, a silicon scraper and a knife. Historians say that if each of these objects would be found next to the mummy separately, Ezia could be attributed to the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Copper Age. For the first time, scientists are faced with such a variety of tools from different eras with one person.
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The copper ax represents the greatest interest for scientists. Its handle is made of yew, the ax blade is 99.7% copper. Earlier it was thought that this copper is local, obtained in West or East Tyrol. Now scientists conducted a thorough isotopic analysis of the composition of the copper ax. The isotopic composition of various materials makes it possible to establish their origin fairly accurately. The results of the analysis suggest that copper for the ax is not at all local. It was produced in one of the fields in Southern Tuscany, Italy.

Scientists who studied the Ezi labor tools were very surprised by the results of isotope analysis. “We were not ready for this news. We are now planning to further explore the ax, to confirm the results, ” said Angelika Fleckinger. If the initial results will be confirmed, then the work will be added to the historians - you will need to understand how Ezi got the copper from Tuscany. Perhaps this person was a merchant? Was there a common trade between distant regions for that time? How extensive were trade relations with people in different regions 5,000 years ago?


Source: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the involvement of Öcie in the copper mining process. The fact is that mummies have much less lead in their hair than in modern humans, and arsenic, on the contrary, has more lead. Perhaps Etsy lived in places of copper mining and processing of arsenic bronze. It may well be that he was involved in the process of mining and processing of copper, although this still needs to be proved.

However, the results of another analysis conducted several years later differ from the initial ones. Geochemist Wolfgang Müller [Wolfgang Müller] from the University of London conducted a series of tests of hair, skin, nails Ötz. He points out that the arsenic content in Etz nails is indeed above the norm. But the analysis of other samples did not show a high content of heavy metals.

Tomography, carried out by experts from the clinic of the city of Bolzano, showed calcification of the aortic walls. Now it is already known that at the time of this man’s death his nose and ribs were broken, his toe was frozen, his spine and right arm were injured. Previously, experts have found and calcification of the blood vessels of the legs Etsi. Genetic analysis showed that Ez was susceptible to cardiovascular disease.

What did ci sound like?

The other day a conference was held in the Italian city of Bolzan, which was dedicated to the ancient man. On it, the Italian specialists from the Bolzansky main hospital presented the results of the work on the restoration of the Ezi voice. According to them, measuring the length of the vocal tract and vocal cords allows you to reconstruct the voice of a person who lived more than 5,000 years ago with a high degree of accuracy.


The larynx Ecz was studied by computed tomography methods. It was difficult to analyze the mummy's speech apparatus, since her hand was right on her throat, and the hyoid bone was dislocated and partially destroyed. But the Italians coped with this task.

Why did ci die?

Scientists believe that the ancient man was killed. A number of facts suggest that shortly before the death of Etzi, he fought with someone. This is evidenced by traces of other people's blood and some injuries. Until recently, it was believed that Ezi fought in the mountains for several days, after which he was killed. But now it was discovered that two and a half hours before his death, the ancient man had eaten a lot of Alpine mountain goat meat. According to scientists, it is unlikely that anyone will take abundant food during a fight or during breaks in battle. Most likely, Etzi fought with someone several days before his death. Then he was overtaken by an enemy who killed Ezi from a bow from his back, shooting an arrow from a great distance.