LJ+Iceman+Questions

1. How did nature mummify and preserve the iceman's body?  The body was frozen and freeze dried. The wind pulled 90% of the water out of his body so the body was remarkably preserved and no ice messed with skin.

2. Why was it so important that the scientists move quickly given your answer to #1 (think about bacteria).  If he unfroze then the enzymes would start decomposing the body. The bacteria would also be unfrozen and his body would be decomposed.

3. What was the iceman's last meal and where did he consume it?  His last meal was Hophorn Bean and the swiss... He ate it in Katarinaberg in late June.

4. Where did the iceman's journey begin? What clues help scientist determine this origin? The scientists examined the vegetation to match it to the Iceman's bow and arrow. He came from Italy and they narrowed it down by looking at his stomach contents. He ate Hophorn bean so passed near that plant in the last 12 hours before his death. This led them to the valley in Northern Italy. Katarinaberg is where he left from. He died in late June.

5. What do scientists think the iceman's role was in his village? At first they thought that the iceman was a Shepard driving the sheep along the ridge and he could have been killed for his livestock but this didnt work. He was actually a leader in his village because his joints were in better condition then a shepard's or trader's. He also had tattoos that indicated he could have been a shaman.

6. What was determined to be his cause of death and what clues help the scientists reach this conclusion? He was shot with an arrowhead. They found an arrow in his back close the main artery. If it hit the artery then he would have bled out in minutes. The hole in his back had not healed over and so that was the cause of death.