Iceman 'bled to death on glacier'

Massive blood loss from a ruptured artery killed the 5,300-year-old Alpine "Iceman" known as Oetzi, tests confirm.

A Swiss-Italian team says the arrow that struck him in the left shoulder slit the artery under his collar bone.

Oetzi probably died as the result of a fight: he may either have fled the attacker - who then shot him in the back - or fell victim to an ambush. The remains of the Neolithic man were discovered in 1991 emerging from a melting glacier.

They have since been subjected to a long series of investigations, with the latest results being published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Examination of food - and perhaps more importantly - tree pollen in his stomach has established that Oetzi started his day with a meal in a wooded valley below the Alps. But later the same day, he was involved in a fight. This assessment is based on the presence of a flint arrowhead lodged in his back and extensive cuts to his hands.

No one can be sure whether this attack took place in the valley below, prompting Oetzi to flee up the mountain; or whether he was involved in a violent scrap at the 3,210m (10,500ft) altitude where his body was discovered on the border between Austria and Italy 16 years ago.

Recent advances in computerised tomography (CT), a sophisticated X-ray scan that allows multidimensional imaging, have given researchers an unprecedented view of Oetzi's internal anatomy. The pictures reveal a 13mm-long rip in Oetzi's left subclavian artery which lies just under the collar bone. Blood poured out into the surrounding tissue, forming a haematoma that can be seen in the breast cavity.

"We can conclude that this was really a deadly hit from the arrowhead," Dr Ruhli told the BBC News website. "He would not have walked around for days. It was a quick death.

"Theoretically, you could have been hit by an arrow and survive. If it doesn't hit an artery or the lung, and you don't get an infection it shouldn't be a problem."

Clotted blood also entered the hole caused by the arrow's wooden shaft, showing that it was broken off while Oetzi was still alive and therefore still bleeding.

BBC