A man who died in the Ötztal Alps 5300 years ago continues to tell scientists incredible details about the life of Europeans in the Copper Age. Since his mummy was discovered in 1991, the Ice Man got the name - Ötzi, got his own research institute - EURAC-Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, and the publication of intimate details of his life turned Ötzi into a modern celebrity.
For a quarter of a century of research on the unique mummy, scientists have restored Otsi's appearance, found out his age at the time of death (45 years old) and the circumstances of his death in the Alpine mountains, learned the menu of his last meal and diagnosed him with gastritis or an ulcer, found his descendants in the male line and did not find relatives on his mother, examined his tattoos, his clothes made of "elite" skins and practical shoes - perhaps Oetzi can be called the most studied Homo Sapiens in the world.
Until now, the main focus of scientists has been on organics - the source of the most striking and unexpected discoveries. Only relatively recently have researchers moved to the study of inorganic objects found near the body. One such artifact is the copper ax, the oldest fully preserved instrument from the Eneolithic era. For 5300 years, not a single detail has rotted in the Alpine ice, the ax still looks like it did during Ötzi's life: a copper blade attached to a yew ax with leather bands and birch tar.
A copper ax with a yew ax, found next to Ötzi's mummy. Photo: South Tyrol Museum of Archeology
The first studies of the prehistoric ax were carried out in the early 1990s, but then scientists were forced to limit themselves to external examination - modern non-invasive technologies suitable for the needs of archeology appeared only in the early 2000s.
The time of the manufacture of the tool was determined from the organic materials used to attach the blade to the ax handle: data from radiocarbon analysis indicate the period between 3346 and 3011 BC.
In 2007, scientists figured out how to make a blade by studying the structure of the metal using neutron diffraction. There were no sensations: prehistoric metallurgists used the most typical and widespread method at that time - a copper blade was cast in a double-leaf mold without additional machining. Further research showed that the Ötzi ax was not at all decorative - the tool was often used for its intended purpose, and as the soft copper wears out, the edge of the blade is heated, cooled and then “shod” to eliminate deformations.
It remained to find out the origin of the metal, but scientists received permission for such a study only in 2016. The complete chemical and isotopic analysis of the copper blade was entrusted to archaeometallurgy specialists from the University of Padua, a research team led by Professor Gilberto Artioli. In July 2017, the results of this study were published in PLOS ONE. Apparently, Oetzi and his ax once again turned scientific theories about the life of the people of the Copper Age upside down.
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Copper for the Ötzi ax was mined in the south of Tuscany (central Italy), which was a complete surprise to scientists. Until now, archaeologists were sure that the metal of all copper objects of the 4th millennium BC discovered in the Alps comes either from the local Alpine or from the Balkan deposits (modern South Tyrol-Trentino, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, in the Balkans - modern Serbia and Bulgaria).
Places of mining and trade routes for copper in Europe of the 4th millennium BC were considered well established, but a new study clearly suggests that the blade of Ötzi's ax is made of metal mined in an “unconventional” location in southern Tuscany. How and in what form Tuscan copper came to Ötzi - as a raw material or as a finished product - is still impossible to establish.
The upper mark is the place where the Ötzi mummy was found in the Tyrolean Alps, the lower one is the area of origin of the Ötzi copper ax blade. The distance between the points is over 500 km. Image: Google Maps
The blade is 99.7% copper, but careful chemical analysis has shown sufficient lead content for isotopic analysis of this metal. Lead isotopic analysis using multicollector mass spectrometry is considered a very reliable method for determining the origin of raw materials.
Copper from deposits in the south of Tuscany differs from all others in the unique composition of lead isotopes in its composition, and this unique "signature" is preserved in the finished product after metallurgical processing. Comparison of isotopic "signatures" of copper became possible thanks to a long preliminary work: in the database of the University of Padua, samples of copper ore are collected from all regions of Europe and almost from all over the world.
Curiously, the results obtained on the Iceman's ax support recent research from a different area not related to Ötzi. For several years now, Italian specialists in archaeometallurgy have been studying ancient copper mining and copper finds in the south of Tuscany for, so to speak, internal use. According to their findings, the production of copper tools in Tuscany began in the Neolithic era. Thus, the "Italian" origin of the copper blade came as a surprise only to modern scientists, while for Oetzi himself, the "sending from the south" could be quite common.
New aggregate data force us to look differently at the ways of spreading copper and socio-economic ties in Europe in the IV millennium BC.
In general, these discoveries correspond to the modern archaeological "trend" - thanks to advanced technologies, researchers increasingly find confirmation of the amazing mobility of people and goods in ancient times.