Iceman+Questions

1. How did nature mummify and preserve the iceman's body? Nature preserved and mummified the body because in extreme temperatures, like extreme cold, decomposition ceases so that the body can remain intact. Also the iceman was freezer-burned. The wind sucked out all the liquid in the iceman's body.

2. Why was it so important that the scientists move quickly given your answer to #1 (think about bacteria). Decomposition can take place in the body once the temperature has been raised to where microorganisms that decompose live. The bacteria can start breaking up the enzymes, so the scientists had to work fast to prevent this from happening.

3. What was the iceman's last meal and where did he consume it? Pollen cells from the popcorn seed plants were found in his intestines which means he must have passed through a popcorn bean region in his final 6-12 hours.

4. Where did the iceman's journey begin? What clues help scientist determine this origin? Catarina Italy is where his journey began.

5. What do scientists think the iceman's role was in his village? Scientists believe he was a shepherd migrating his flock to Alpine pastures, but it would have been hard for him to have made it up the mountain in his shoes. Other scientists believe he was a leader of his village because there was little degeneration of the bones.

6. What was determined to be his cause of death and what clues help the scientists reach this conclusion? Maybe the shooting was due to a fight over the clan. He had tattoos all over his body which was probably due to a Shaman. He could have also been a human sacrifice because he