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00:02Otzi, the Iceman, frozen high in the Alps for 5,000 years, he is the world's most perfectly
00:10preserved mummy. He comes from an age before the pyramids and Stonehenge.
00:17The Iceman gives us a window into how the people lived 5,300 years ago.
00:21Now, new forensic technology is uncovering astonishing secrets from his body and belongings.
00:28We know exactly how he died, we know exactly what happened even in the last minutes of
00:33his life.
00:35Investigations across Europe reveal the changing society the Iceman lives in.
00:41What can Otzi's life and death tell us about his incredible lost world?
00:48To solve these mysteries, we'll peer into the Iceman's frozen body, piece together his
00:54ancient weapons and tools, to discover what kills him, and to reveal a time when humankind
01:00is on the dawn of a new age.
01:12September 1991, 10,000 feet high in the Alps. On the Austria-Italy border, two hikers stumble
01:23across the frozen body of a man. At first, they think he is a climber, but mysterious objects
01:32lying in the meltwater point to an ancient corpse.
01:36The Iceman gives us the unique possibility to look back into our path.
01:42Locked in the ice, the body lies face down on a rock. Perfectly preserved, his eyeballs are
01:50mummified in their sockets. Carbon dating reveals he is over 5,000 years old, with a mysterious
01:58puncture wound on his left shoulder. Scattered around the body are the remnants of extreme
02:04weather gear, a bearskin cap, a knee-length fur coat carefully sewn from goat and sheepskin panels,
02:12grass-lined string socks, and leather snow boots. And cast further away, prehistoric weapons.
02:20What can these clues tell us about the world this extraordinary ice mummy comes from?
02:29Bolzano, Italy. Here, under tight security, investigators keep the Iceman frozen in a refrigerated cell at
02:38a frosty 19 degrees Fahrenheit. They nicknamed him OTSI, after the mountains where he comes
02:45from. Microbiologist Frank Meixner is part of the team investigating OTSI.
02:53So people in the future can still look at this mummy, can also learn a lot from this mummy.
02:59It's really our current task to find the best preservation conditions.
03:05Scientists know much about the Iceman. They discover he lives his entire life in the valleys of the
03:12northern Italian Alps. So we learned quite a lot already, but just by analyzing first of all his
03:18skeleton and also his bones, and there we saw how old he was when he died. So he was around
03:2240 to 50 years old.
03:24But mysteries still surround his possessions. Now new technology allows scientists to look at them
03:31with fresh eyes. Strewn 12 feet from OTSI's body lies an incredibly rare treasure. The complete remains of
03:43an axe, the only one of its kind, ever found. The blade just three inches long, expertly cast from 99
03:50% pure copper.
03:52Its edges skillfully hammered to slot perfectly into the carved wooden handle.
03:57And seven feet of leather lashing binded tightly in place. A sophisticated design.
04:065000 years ago, it is one of the most valuable items imaginable.
04:11Can a new examination of this precious object unlock more secrets about OTSI and the world he lives in?
04:20OTSI lives just after the Stone Age. But centuries before great monuments like the Pyramids or Stonehenge.
04:30He comes from a time we now call the Copper Age.
04:34The Copper Age is actually the transition between the Stone Age into the Real Metal Age.
04:40And that's exactly the time where OTSI lived.
04:44Geologist Gilberto Artioli is an expert in ancient metals.
04:49He thinks techniques used to make OTSI's axe are far more sophisticated than we ever imagined.
04:56You had to get the skills and the know-how to extract the metal from the ores.
05:03You need to actually chemically react and decompose the ores.
05:08In a unique experiment, his team replicates the methods used to produce it,
05:14using only the technology available in the Copper Age.
05:19The process to turn copper into metal is called copper smelting.
05:25Craftsmen need to grind the ore down with special stone tools before combining it with charcoal.
05:32It is crucial the mixture heats to precisely 1830 degrees Fahrenheit, the melting point of copper.
05:40They need to work hard to keep the temperature constant.
05:44Gilberto's team reveals the astonishing degree of skill the copper smelters need.
06:06OTSI is carrying one of the most advanced weapons on Earth, but there's a mystery.
06:13Scientists have never found any evidence of this copper production process in the region where he lives.
06:20Until now, experts have thought the people of this era stay local.
06:25So how does the Iceman get his beautiful axe? And what can that tell us about his world?
06:32For the past 12 years, Gilberto scours Europe for clues, trying to find out where the axe comes from.
06:39We really had to do a massive task of putting together the data of thousands and thousands of different mines.
06:48That's really a painful job to do.
06:50All copper ores have their own chemical signature, their unique fingerprint.
06:56So Gilberto can match OTSI's axe to an ore deposit somewhere in Europe.
07:01It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
07:06The search takes Gilberto south for over 400 miles to an ancient mine in San Silvestro.
07:12Does OTSI's axe originate this far from his home?
07:20Below ground are rich deposits of copper ore.
07:25Okay, this is actually copper ore, but this is very recent. It's young ore.
07:31This is not exactly what we want.
07:34Gilberto searches other parts of the mine.
07:38This is exactly the copper ore we want.
07:41This is going to tell us what is the fingerprint of this mine.
07:46When Gilberto compares the chemical signature of this copper ore with OTSI's axe, he makes an incredible find.
07:54When we analyzed this ore, we found a perfect match with the signal of the copper of the Iceman axe.
08:03It's absolutely fantastic.
08:06The discovery that OTSI's axe is made from copper mined here radically resets our thinking about this era.
08:15This is the time our ancestors begin to trade over long distance.
08:21But are they exchanging raw materials or finished goods?
08:26Where is the axe made?
08:29At nearby San Carlo, Gilberto finds the answer.
08:32What was discovered there is actually exceptional because we have a complete mythological workshop.
08:39It's the most ancient in Italy.
08:41We can also get pieces of charcoal that actually allowed us to date them exactly to the time of the
08:48Iceman.
08:51OTSI's axe is made here and taken 400 miles north until it reaches his home in the frozen mountains.
08:59Nobody was expecting this.
09:01It really opened up, you know, a completely different view of the copper age.
09:10In OTSI's world, people use wheels but not horses.
09:15The assumption is that they trade their goods locally.
09:21So the copper for OTSI's axe should have come from nearby mines in the Alps.
09:26But instead, it comes all the way from the Mediterranean coast.
09:31Copper goods spread far and wide, jumping from one community to the next through a complex network.
09:41The copper age is a revolutionary time in our story.
09:45The beginning of specialized manufacture and trade, a world we recognize today.
09:53Copper is transforming society.
09:55There is a saying, metals make the earth go around.
09:59Because copper means tools, it means weapons, it means power.
10:06ATSI lives at a time when people are not just experimenting with metals.
10:11They are also exchanging this technology over long distances.
10:15But copper weapons like this one are still rare.
10:19So why does OTSI have one?
10:21What does it reveal about his place in this rapidly changing world?
10:41The Iceman is transforming our understanding of humankind over 5,000 years ago.
10:48Archaeologists used to think that OTSI comes from a world of small, isolated communities.
10:55Agriculture is developing with the spread of crops and livestock.
10:59His astonishing copper axe, made far away by specialist craftsmen, reveals a more sophisticated era.
11:09So how does the Iceman fit into this world?
11:14A discovery at Remedelo, Northern Italy, over a hundred miles from South Tyrol, where OTSI lives, provides a clue.
11:24Hidden in the valley floor, lies an ancient cemetery.
11:30Eleven females, buried with terracotta pottery, and valuable necklaces.
11:38In neighboring graves, 12 males, surrounded by prestigious flint arrowheads, and in their grasp, three inch long flint daggers.
11:49But in one grave, archaeologists make a very special discovery.
11:54A copper axe, identical to OTSI's.
12:01Can these rich grave goods help reveal more about our Iceman?
12:08Archaeologist Ors Leitzinger believes they can.
12:11The Remedelo site is really, really interesting.
12:15Not everybody got a burial like this.
12:20It was thought that in the copper age, people are more or less equal.
12:24With few things to own, there is little to create division.
12:28But the discovery of these fine possessions forces a rethink.
12:33We have the copper axes, the daggers, and that shows us that the person that was buried, they were very
12:40wealthy and high status.
12:44OTSI's weapons appear to mark him out as one of the elite.
12:49OTSI, he has a copper axe.
12:51He was probably not a poor guy, but he was a person of power and influence.
12:58Across the Alps in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Constance,
13:02archaeologists find a similar picture in the remains of a copper age village.
13:07The perfectly preserved finds date to 3384 BC, almost exactly the same time OTSI lives.
13:16That was really a big discovery.
13:19These artifacts, we can really reconstruct the living at this period.
13:25OTSI's copper axe is not the only thing that identifies him as a man of importance.
13:31His fine clothes do too.
13:34This piece of clothes is similar to the technique of the coat of OTSI.
13:40And it's really a sophisticated work.
13:43And perhaps not everybody had the opportunity to get such a wonderful clothes.
13:49Other remains here reveal how trade and technology begin to change society.
13:55In this settlement, we found more than one ton of ceramics.
14:00That's a typical pot from there, ugly, not decorated.
14:04But we found also a couple of rich, decorated pottery.
14:09The pot shows evidence of a completely different style.
14:13It's similar to ceramics found far away in Vienna, Austria.
14:18At first, archaeologists think the pottery must have been brought to the village.
14:22But ORS discovers the clay is local, so it must have been made in the village.
14:29Probably this person said, wow, this is an ugly pot.
14:32I'll show you how to make a rich, decorated pot.
14:36People are moving across Europe, exchanging technology and ideas.
14:41It was an open-minded society.
14:43A new idea spread from far away, from south to north, from north to south.
14:50The ancient site also suggests people are starting to develop different roles in society.
14:56We have here more than 400 artifacts for producing textiles.
15:01These are spindle worlds you need to produce textile threads.
15:06You have the big one, you have the small one.
15:10ORS thinks the variations in the different tools used for weaving
15:13show that goods are produced on a large scale.
15:17It's like a mini production line, and that's amazing,
15:21because it shows that in OTSI's world, the organization of the society is completely changing.
15:29We have different specializations.
15:32Technological advances allow OTSI's people to lead a far more sophisticated life
15:37than their Stone Age ancestors.
15:40The change is not just in Europe.
15:44On the banks of the Nile, the Indus in India, and in Mesopotamia in the Middle East,
15:50technology and trade creates wealth and rank.
15:54As complex societies emerge, the first cities grow up.
16:00It's the dawn of civilization.
16:04In OTSI's part of Europe, building is on a smaller scale.
16:08But changes in society still have an impact on his village life.
16:15Each dwelling sits on a stilted birch frame,
16:19the size of an RV, topped with timber tiles held down by stones.
16:26Inside, up to eight people eat and sleep together around a central clay hearth,
16:32sharing their home with domesticated animals.
16:38Up to 30 identical houses nestled tightly together.
16:42Some keep pigs, while others tend cattle.
16:47Some craft pottery and beads and barter them within the community and beyond.
16:53Others gather food from the woods, while others are hunters.
17:01OARS believes that these distinct roles reveal the emergence of a new social order.
17:07You look at the artifacts and you find these daggers, you find copper artifacts,
17:13that shows us that there must be some sort of differentiation in the village.
17:19OTSI's precious acts, his fine clothes, reveal he is a man of high status in his village.
17:26OTSI's rank may breed resentment or jealousy.
17:31Does this lead to his death?
17:32Does this lead to his death?
17:33A fresh investigation of his tools offers clues.
17:50OTSI the Iceman
17:51OTSI the Iceman is a 5,000 year old time capsule.
17:54He lives in the early copper age, when mastery of metal leads to profound change.
18:02OTSI's valuable copper axe is a clear sign that he is a wealthy man.
18:06What else can his possessions reveal about him, his life, and how he dies?
18:14Found alongside OTSI is the world's first fully preserved prehistoric toolkit.
18:19A flint dagger with a two inch blade, an intricate tree bark sheath, a blade sharpener pointed like a pencil,
18:28made from hardened deer antler.
18:30And further away, a longbow shaft crafted from a U-branch nearby, a deer hide quiver.
18:42Wrapped inside, 14 arrow shafts, but just two are complete with flint arrowheads and feather fletching.
18:51Could he be a hunter or a warrior? Why is he so well armed?
18:59Archaeologist Ursula Weirer investigates OTSI's flint weapons.
19:04They could be key to unlocking his identity and even a clue to how he dies.
19:11The tools are so important because the tools tell us about the everyday life of the people that use them,
19:18that produce them.
19:20And also in OTSI's case, it tells us something about his history.
19:27Experts believe the flint in some of the Iceman's tools may come from Italy's Lessini Mountains region.
19:36People have been using stone tools since more than two million years.
19:41And the reason is that flakable stones are very robust and strong material, which can be shaped.
19:48There are many different types of flint which affect the quality of the tools.
19:54Ursula works with Stefano Bertola, an expert in this stone.
19:59Some flint are coarse and soft, some others are hard.
20:07The flint in this area is very strong and hard, without impurities.
20:13Look, it's very sharp.
20:15You can easily cut a quite thick piece of leather.
20:21Stefano believes that these mountains produce superior flint.
20:25But this razor-sharp stone is difficult to turn into an effective weapon.
20:31It's not only finding a good flint and to produce flakes.
20:35You need also to shape this flake.
20:38It takes time.
20:40Crafting a stone arrowhead or blade requires skill.
20:45You need to use a pressure technique called flint knapping to shape it.
20:51Ursula and her team use a high-powered microscope to look at the pressure marks on the Iceman's tools in
20:57extraordinary detail.
21:00We discovered that they are beautifully worked.
21:03We know that it was a work done by experts.
21:08The precision of the pressure marks spread evenly over the blade reveals it is made by a skilled craftsman.
21:16Otzi's tools are of the highest quality.
21:19Is this proof he is a specialist flint knapper?
21:22We were able to distinguish the last phase of repairing was of a little bit less quality.
21:29Otzi. The last one who worked these tools was Otzi, because he was the owner.
21:34And so we think that he was able to retouch, but he had not the high-quality skill to make
21:39tools like this.
21:42Otzi is no flint specialist.
21:45He doesn't make his own weapons.
21:47Is he an alpine hunter?
21:51He wears a base layer of leather leggings and a fur coat.
21:55And on top, a waterproof grass cape and luxury bearskin calf.
22:02Around his waist, a first-aid travel kit.
22:06Two walnut-sized birch mushrooms to fight infection and reduce inflammation.
22:12A bent hazelwood frame.
22:15Large boards and string bridging make a pack that sits snugly on his back.
22:21With waterproof hide that shields it from the elements.
22:25And inside, wooden containers are stuffed with charcoal embers wrapped in maple leaves.
22:30A ready-made portable fire.
22:36Otzi is outfitted for a hunting trip high in the mountains.
22:41But for Ursula, something doesn't add up.
22:44We can see this from the bow, which is still unfinished and would have needed several hours to be completed.
22:54A hunter's bow would be ready for the kill.
22:57And his quiver of arrows is also a mystery.
23:01The Iceman carried 12 arrow shafts.
23:05He had only two arrow shafts which were ready.
23:08But both arrowheads where they laid broken inside the quiver.
23:14He is not on a hunt.
23:16Ursula believes the state of his weapons is very revealing.
23:21This tells me that he didn't have any time to prepare his toolkit.
23:27Maybe because he was in a hurry.
23:29So it seems that he was in a problematic situation when he maybe was forced to go up to the
23:36mountains.
23:38Is Otzi on the run, fleeing for his life?
23:42Can modern forensic science help us solve the mystery of this ancient death?
24:01Otzi gives scientists an extraordinary window into the world 5,000 years ago.
24:07He is a high-ranking member of a rapidly changing society.
24:11But seems to be fleeing in fear for his life.
24:15What can a post-mortem reveal about his death?
24:22Concealed beneath Otzi's skin.
24:25His gut, fully intact.
24:29In his lower intestines, investigators find traces of pollen he ingests during his final days.
24:37One is from pine trees.
24:41Another, the hop hornbeam.
24:45But a crucial organ has gone undetected for years.
24:49And is finally discovered.
24:52Hidden under the ribs.
24:54His stomach.
24:58What can the Iceman's own body tell us about his final hours?
25:06Microbiologist Frank Meixner investigates the Iceman's stomach.
25:13The amazing was really that the stomach was completely filled.
25:17Could take out pieces of food he ate shortly before he died.
25:21Here is a perfectly preserved 5,000-year-old snack.
25:26The information we get from the intestinal contents is really incredible.
25:30We can reconstruct his diet, but also we can reconstruct his last few days.
25:35Food only stays in the stomach for a couple of hours, then passes through to other parts of the gut.
25:41So Otzi must eat this meal shortly before he dies.
25:47Hidden in these prehistoric remains, Frank spots something unusual.
25:51When we take now a water-based solution and we add it, stomach content actually floats up in this water
25:58-based solution, which was quite unexpected to us.
26:02For Frank, it's the telltale sign of a fatty substance.
26:07He uses a centrifuge to separate the different components of the stomach's crumbly contents.
26:13On the one hand, we have the plant and animal material, and we have here the second part, which is
26:19the pure fat.
26:21The Iceman's last meal consists of nearly 50% fat.
26:26It shows us that the Iceman had already a good knowledge on the diet, and the fat he ate gave
26:32him the energy to survive up there in this mountain.
26:36Frank thinks this high-fat meal can reveal more about Otzi's last hours.
26:43To investigate, he's come to the South Tyrol Archeopark for a prehistoric cookout.
26:50So we have here some wild goat meat, the type of meat we found also in the Iceman's stomach content.
26:56And I will cut it here.
26:59So for cutting, we use a flintstone similar like the Iceman did it 5,300 years ago.
27:05Frank believes Otzi chooses energy-rich cuts of meat.
27:09The neck muscle of wild goat is fatty, just like bacon.
27:14He cooks the meat using an ancient method.
27:17At low temperature over an open fire.
27:22So if we take now a piece of meat that was cooked only at about approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit,
27:28we can clearly see that the structure is still intact.
27:32Frank analyzes the cooked meat.
27:36It has a similar structure to the meat in Otzi's stomach.
27:41The presence of these alter-structural elements tells us that the meat was not harshly heated up.
27:48The Iceman's meal consisted of dried meat, which is similar like beef jerky.
27:53So all the water content is removed.
27:57Otzi carries a pre-prepared meal.
28:00Perhaps he knows he'll be away for some time.
28:04But there's something else.
28:07When the Iceman had his last meal, he unintentionally also swallowed pollens which were in the environment.
28:14From the position of these pollens in the Iceman's gut,
28:18Frank can piece together a detailed timeline of Otzi's last days.
28:24He analyzes the samples taken from the Iceman's lower intestine.
28:29These reveal where Otzi is nearly two days before he dies.
28:34We saw pine tree pollen inside it.
28:36And this tells us that he actually was for this meal at around approximately 2,000 meters above sea level.
28:43The same technique pinpoints where the Iceman is 24 hours later.
28:49We went down into the valley at approximately 1,200 meters.
28:54We see a different pollen profile, trees which are more growing at this altitude.
29:02The pollen allows Frank to trace Otzi's journey 10,000 feet up in the Alps.
29:11The Iceman was found up there at this mountain ridge.
29:16Within the last two days, the Iceman was tracking up and down in these mountains,
29:20in long-distance tracks also, in these extreme environments.
29:24We really ask ourselves why he did so. What was his motivation to do this?
29:29Otzi's final trip deepens the mystery surrounding his death.
29:34What kills him in that lonely mountain pass?
29:37Is it an accident or murder?
29:40Can new forensic analysis of the Iceman's injuries help solve this 5,000-year-old cold case?
30:01Otzi. A man entombed in ice for over 5,000 years.
30:07Otzi's perfectly preserved body is a link to life in the Copper Age.
30:11A world that is becoming more complex.
30:16Scientists piece together his final days.
30:19But now they are trying to understand how he dies and why.
30:25External examinations of his body reveal a debilitating injury to his right hand.
30:31A one-inch cut right down to the bone.
30:35Bruising to his face suggests a more sinister wound.
30:39Beneath the skull, evidence of a brain hemorrhage.
30:43A possible blunt force trauma.
30:46And on his left shoulder, a small puncture.
30:50Beneath the shoulder blade, a trail of damaged tissue leads to a piece of flint.
30:56A piece, no larger than a dime, an arrowhead, a series of dangerous wounds.
31:04Which one kills him? And is it murder?
31:10Paleopathologist Albert Zink heads the scientific team investigating the death of the Iceman.
31:17We are using modern forensic science to better understand how the Iceman died.
31:23The circumstances around his death.
31:25What happened in the last moments of his life.
31:29Blood samples can reveal if a wound is fatal.
31:33Forensic scientists study them for vital clues as to when an injury occurs.
31:39It's very difficult to find blood samples in the Iceman.
31:42So this is a big problem that we have.
31:46Now, new forensic technology helps Albert investigate the Iceman's injuries in microscopic detail.
31:53He analyzes tissue samples taken from Otzi's hand, brain, and arrow wounds.
32:00We see this microscopical picture. And just by looking on this image, we're not sure about
32:05whether this is blood cells, maybe something else like pollen or a dust particle.
32:10Albert uses a pioneering nanoprobe to find out.
32:14This creates a 3D image of the Iceman's tissue sample in extraordinary detail.
32:20This is amazing that we really got a 3D object that perfectly shows the structure of red blood cells.
32:26But by doing this, we really could prove that we have identified for the first time
32:31red blood cells of 5,300 years of age.
32:35This is the oldest human blood cell ever found.
32:39So how does prehistoric plasma remain intact for so long?
32:44The secret lies in Otzi's unusual burial.
32:50Just hours after his death, snow quickly covers the Iceman's body.
32:56Hiding his remains from scavenging animals.
33:00Over the following weeks, the layers of snow compact into ice.
33:05Otzi's internal organs plunge into deep freeze, trapping moisture which preserves the fragile blood cells.
33:13And as his body lies in a gully, the churning movement of the glacier above cannot harm it.
33:22Over 5000 years, the ice occasionally melts.
33:27Allowing the alpine winds to dry and mummify the Iceman's skin.
33:34With Otzi's ancient blood cells still intact, Albert can investigate which injuries kill him.
33:43With the help of the blood, we could understand whether the wounds were fresh or the wounds
33:48were already start to heal.
33:49And with this, we could also try to reconstruct what happened in the last hours and days before he died.
33:56First, Albert analyzes the blood from the wound on Otzi's right hand.
34:01You can see here is a scratch on his right hand, in his right palm.
34:06It's really a big cut wound that must have been caused by a plate, so maybe a knife or even
34:13my axe.
34:14An atomic microscope magnifies the blood sample.
34:21We wanted to know whether this was a fresh cut wound or it was already starting to heal.
34:26And here you see this blue-greenish material.
34:29This shows that the healing process has already started.
34:34The hand wound is not fresh, but happens a few days before Otzi dies.
34:39Next, Albert analyzes the wound in the Iceman's head.
34:43When we looked into his brain, we saw some darkened errors in the back of the brain,
34:49which are signs, at least in modern forensic cases, for brain trauma.
34:54Does this kill Otzi?
34:57We have no clear conclusion that this brain injury has contributed to his death.
35:02It was just the injury he got from falling down.
35:05Albert now turns to the last injury, the arrow wound.
35:10He uses the same magnifying process to find something very different from the hand wound.
35:16We found traces of a substance that is called fibrin, and it's a molecule that helps to
35:24clot the blood and to fix the wound.
35:27Fibrin forms quickly after an injury, but disappears from the body before the healing process starts.
35:34By finding the fibrin, it means that it was a fresh wound that didn't show any signs of healing.
35:39It was an amazing finding because it showed us that he didn't survive this arrow shot.
35:44So we had an ultimate proof, finally, that he was killed with the arrow.
35:49The wound confirms that Otzi is murdered.
35:53The arrow, when he entered the body, injured a major artery.
35:57This thing must have lost a lot of blood.
36:00This have killed him within 30 minutes or one hour.
36:04Who would want to kill someone like Otzi?
36:07What kind of enemies might he have?
36:25Otzi the Iceman murdered high in the Alps.
36:29This ancient crime scene remains frozen in ice, unchanged for 5,000 years.
36:36Scientists believe the cause of his death was a single arrow shot to his shoulder.
36:41But key questions still fascinate investigators.
36:45Who kills Otzi and why?
36:49And what can his death tell us about the world he lives in?
36:55In Switzerland, paleopathologist Frank Rulli wants to know what the murder weapon,
37:01the arrow, can tell him about Otzi's killer.
37:05What we know for sure is that Otzi was shot from behind.
37:08But we definitely need more evidence to know more about the whole crime scene and the motivation behind it.
37:19Frank meets Jürgen Junkmann at Zurich Police Forces firing range.
37:23He has spent 20 years researching prehistoric weaponry.
37:27So you brought the bows and the arrows?
37:31Yeah, I tried to replicate Otzi.
37:35Jürgen has constructed an exact replica of the bow and arrow used in Otzi's time.
37:42It's quite capable of killing any animal.
37:48They've set up a target that simulates Otzi.
37:52This ballistic gel mimics his body.
37:54And the goat hide in front replicates his clothes.
37:58So let's see what we can learn about the murderer.
38:03Close inspection reveals how deep the arrow penetrates into Otzi's body.
38:08Frank uses this evidence to test how far away Otzi's killer is.
38:13First, Jürgen fires a shot from 30 feet.
38:22Nice. Let's get and have a look.
38:26So this went really deep into the body.
38:29So the killer must have been even further away, I guess.
38:33A shot fired at this distance would penetrate deeper into Otzi's body than the arrow that kills him.
38:41So Jürgen fires from 100 feet.
38:45That's how it looks like after 30 meters.
38:56Let's see.
39:00Didn't go that far.
39:01It still has enough impact to be lethal.
39:04We can assume the murderer being about this distance away.
39:09It's an ambush.
39:11The killer fires from a safe distance and shoots Otzi from behind.
39:18He was shot by this arrow. He was starting to bleed massively.
39:23And in combination with the cold where he was sort of, he was on top of the mountains.
39:28He probably just sort of bled to death.
39:31But after 5,000 years, what other leads are there to help Frank investigate a motive in a killer?
39:37It seems to be of a certain wealth, but I think it's rather unlikely that it was specifically a robbery
39:44in this case.
39:45Otherwise, you would expect more of the equipment being missing.
39:50Frank examines wounds in Otzi's body.
39:52They point to a fatal chain of events that begins a few days before his murder.
39:59Otzi had a wound in the right hand. The location of the wound indicates that it might be actually
40:05some sort of defense towards someone who is attacking him.
40:09We know from the histological examinations that the wound was a few days old.
40:15Frank suspects that Otzi knows his killer.
40:18You often see also in modern situations of homicide that there is an escalation of violence.
40:24So someone attacks someone and then it goes even further and further.
40:30Eventually ends into a deadly assault on someone.
40:35So that's a pattern we might have seen already 5,000 years ago.
40:40Otzi lives at a time when a new social order is emerging.
40:44Material wealth and specialized skills split people into high and low status.
40:50Does this breed resentment?
40:54Emotional reasons play a big role.
40:57Maybe someone was envious about his life because of his wealth,
41:00about his status, about his behavior.
41:04Maybe he made someone upset back in his village.
41:08These are possible reasons why someone gets killed.
41:14The Iceman is murdered.
41:16His perfectly preserved remains tell us much about his death, but also the time he lives in.
41:23A world we can still recognize today.
41:26The case of Otzi is fascinating because after 5,000 years we have evolved enormously technologically,
41:33but in terms of emotion and the way we act, mankind may still be exactly the same.
41:40Otzi is one of the most incredible archaeological discoveries of all time.
41:46He unlocks secrets of a European culture that flourishes at the dawn of civilization.
41:52He unlocks secrets of all time.
41:53When humans are leaving the Stone Age behind and entering a brave new world.
41:58'm
42:10It is.
42:10My.
42:24I'm
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