ice+man+questions+AG

1. How did nature mummify and preserve the iceman's body? The cold weather allowed the body and its contents to remain in-tact more so than it would in warmer weather conditions.

2. Why was it so important that the scientists move quickly given your answer to #1 (think about bacteria). The defrosting system makes the body begin to decay so they must work fast in oder to get the body flexible enough to gather data without completely ruining it.

3. What was the iceman's last meal and where did he consume it? Haporn beans consumed in the northern Italy valleys, near Catarinaburg.

4. Where did the iceman's journey begin? What clues help scientist determine this origin? Italy, through the same samples found in defrosting the mummy. Large amounts of haporn was found in the stomach of the mummy showing it was ingetsed within the last 12 hours of his life. The swiss arola pine that only blooms in spring in Italy also was found in the stomach.

5. What do scientists think the iceman's role was in his village? A woodsy man who was considered a leader of the community.

6. What was determined to be his cause of death and what clues help the scientists reach this conclusion? Through the Xray they found a chip in the shoulder that they then researched through CT scans and found that an arrow head had hit him from behind and went through his heart and lungs leading to his death. This could possibly have been a sacrificial death.