Nov 25, 2013

An Eyeful of Otzi

The oldest dead body ever found is startlingly well-preserved. The roughly 5300-year-old corpse still has skin, guts, fingernails, teeth... all thanks to a serendipitous natural freeze-drying process that turned a man now known as Ötzi into a mummy high up in the Italian Alps (you can hear all about the Iceman our short An Ice-Cold Case).

The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, which houses Ötzi, has some stunning close-ups which they've allowed us post here -- enjoy!

 

Ötzi's right hand, which scientists realized shows a self-defense wound from the Iceman's final days:

South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

The back of Ötzi's skull, which is believed to have been bashed in by his attackers:

South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

The face of a man who walked the earth over 700 years before the Pyramids were built in Giza:

South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

Based on all the clues contained in the Iceman's corpse (as well as his surviving clothes and tools), it's possible to imagine what he might have looked like before he died:

South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology

Want to get a REALLY close look at Ötzi? Check out these zoomable, high res images

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