Mystery of 5,000 year old Glacier Mummy solved
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/e-mo5060607.php


Contact: Frank Rühli
frank.ruhli@anatom.unizh.ch
41-446-355-315
Elsevier
Mystery of 5,000 year old Glacier Mummy solved

Iceman 'Ötzi's' cause of death proved by researcher at the University
of Zurich
An Italian-Swiss research team, including Dr. Frank Rühli of the
Institute of Anatomy at the University of Zurich in Switzerland proved
the cause of death of the Iceman ("Ötzi," 3300 BC) by modern
X-ray-based technology. A lesion of a close-to-the-shoulder artery has
been found thanks to a CT scan or multislice computed tomography,
finally clarifying the world-famous glacier mummy's cause of death. This
scientific work appeared online in the Journal of Archaeological
Science, published by Elsevier and will be covered in the German and US
issues of National Geographic magazine in July.

The Iceman is a uniquely well-preserved late Neolithic glacier mummy,
found in 1991 in South Tyrol at 3,210 meters above sea level. He has
undergone various scientific examinations, as human bodies are the best
source for the study of life conditions in the past as well as the
evolution of today's diseases.
In 2005, the glacier mummy was reinvestigated in South Tyrol by Dr. F.
Rühli from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Zurich in
Switzerland, in close collaboration with Dr. Eduard Egarter Vigl of the
South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy, as well as Drs.
Patrizia Pernter and Paul Gostner from the Department of Radiology at
General Hospital Bolzano, by state-of-the-art multislice computed
tomography (CT).

Analysis of the CT images showed a lesion of the dorsal wall of the left
subclavian artery, the artery underneath the clavicle, caused by an
earlier, already-detected arrowhead that remains in the back. In
addition, a large haematoma could be visualized in the surrounding
tissue. By incorporating historic as well as modern data on the survival
ship of such a severe lesion, the scientists concluded that the Iceman
died within a short time due to this lesion.

"Such obvious proof of a vascular lesion in a body of this historic age
is unique, and it helped to determine the cause of this extraordinary
death without a destructive autopsy. We look forward to further
investigating the circumstances surrounding the Iceman's sudden death,"
explains Dr. Dr. Rühli.

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About the Swiss Mummy Project
Dr. Frank Rühli, senior assistant and research group leader at the
Institute of Anatomy at the University of Zurich, co-chairs with Dr.
Thomas Böni of the Orthopedic University Clinic Balgrist the Swiss
Mummy Project, a mummy research project running for more than 10 years
at the University of Zurich. Mummy research is nowadays an
interdisciplinary worldwide field of science, which is crucial in
contributing to the understanding of disease and culture. Dr. Rühli,
along with Drs. Egarter Vigl and Gostner, were chosen for scientific
consultancy for the determination of the cause of death of Pharaoh
Tutankhamun in Egypt in 2005.

The aim of the Swiss Mummy Project is, whenever possible, to use
non-invasive methods to gain information on life, death and after-death
alterations (e.g., embalming-related changes) on historic mummies. To
achieve this, mostly radiological examination techniques such as CT are
used. The work of the Swiss Mummy Project is funded by the
Forschungskredit (research fund) of the University of Zurich as well as
by collaborations with Siemens Medical Solutions, Zuse-Institute Berlin
and the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim.

About the Journal of Archaeological Science
The Journal of Archaeological Science provides an international forum
for archaeologists and scientists from widely different scientific
backgrounds who share a common interest in using scientific methods to
increase the information derived from archaeological research.

Published by Elsevier
(http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622854/description#description),
this established monthly journal publishes original research papers,
major review articles, and short notes of wide archaeological
significance.