Smith 1

Erin Smith

Dr. Rolland

ANT 220 A F

28 October 2009

Response to Iceman: Hunt for a Killer

While we were unfortunately unable to finish the documentary, I was fascinated by how

the researchers treated Osti’s mummy and the excavation site as a crime scene. The way they

were able to recreate the circumstances and do everyday detective work to crack a case from

~5,000 B.C. was astonishing. His death also shed a great deal of light on the conflict between

agricultural societies in the Neolithic Stone Age, specifically the clash between people as they

began to compete for better lands. The fact that Otsi was found with an arrow in his back,

specifically designed for killing people, plus the blood found on the arrows from the Blue

Pigment test, highlighted this conflict.

Also interesting was the experimental archaeology used to prove how he’d been shot with

the arrow and how they consulted an experienced mountain climber to prove that he had known

the mountain pass he was on when he died. That, plus the fact that all of his equipment had been

left exactly where Osti placed it, proved that Osti had been running from his attackers and had

died 48 hours after the attack.

While the video of the excavation revealing that Osti had been uncovered using a pickaxe

was a minor detail in the documentary, it nevertheless struck me the most and has remained in

my mind ever since. It was horrifying. I had previously thought that most people knew not to

perform the excavation of a body in that way but apparently I was wrong. Additionally, how the

knife was found and then thrown aside also deeply chagrined me.