Otzi the Iceman

Otzi is housed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy, in a custom climate-controlled chamber kept at -6°C and high humidity. He can be viewed through a small window by visitors. The museum also displays his clothing and reconstructed gear.

Radiocarbon dating places Otzi at roughly 3300 BC, making him over 5,000 years old. He was found in the Otztal Alps on the Austrian-Italian border. He is one of the oldest naturally mummified humans ever discovered.

CT scans in 2001 revealed a flint arrowhead lodged in Otzi's left shoulder, suggesting he was shot from behind. Later analysis found a deep wound on his hand and blood traces from multiple individuals on his weapons. He likely bled to death in a rocky hollow at about 10,500 feet.

His gear included a copper axe, a quiver of arrows, a flint dagger, a backpack frame, and birch-fungus tinder. He wore a woven grass cloak, leather leggings, and a bearskin cap. His 57 tattoos, likely therapeutic, include marks on joints affected by arthritis.