Ötzi the Iceman: When science reveals the secrets of a 5,300-year-old cold case

This is the story of a prehistoric man named Ötzi , whose mummified body was discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, at an altitude of 3,210 meters, on the border between Austria and Italy. Buried under a thick layer of ice, he was brought to light during a major melting of the glacier that summer. Two German hikers, believing they were dealing with a mountaineer who had fallen victim to the cold, alerted the authorities. The remains, quickly nicknamed "the Iceman", ultimately turned out to be the oldest known glacial mummy, dated to around 3,300 years before our era, or more than 5,300 years ago.

The Iceman mummy in its conservation enclosure at the Archaeological Museum of Bolzano. KELLER A, ET AL. NAT COMMUN. 2012 FEB 28;3:698.

A murder dating back to the Chalcolithic, Copper Age

Ötzi represents one of the oldest known murder cases and the most thoroughly studied human corpse in the scientific history of mummies, particularly from a genetic and forensic perspective. Analyses showed that he was between 40 and 50 years old at the time of his death, approximately 1.60 meters tall and 61 kg, and showed signs of joint degeneration (in the hips, shoulders, knees, and spine), atherosclerosis, gastrointestinal disorders, and old rib fractures. Three small gallstones were also identified.

The first sequencing of his genome, carried out in 2012, was of poor quality and showed contamination by modern DNA (around 7%). It then revealed a strong genetic proximity between Ötzi and modern Sardinians, a conclusion reconsidered ten years later.

In 2023, an international team sequenced his DNA again, taken from the same bone sample (left hip bone), this time with a low level of modern DNA contamination (about 0.5%). This study, published in the journal Cell Genomics , showed that Ötzi had ancestry mainly from the first Neolithic farmers from Anatolia, as well as an older portion from European hunter-gatherers. Contrary to what was thought, he is therefore not a direct "cousin" of modern Sardinians, but shares a common Anatolian origin with them.

This team, led by Albert Zink (Bolzano, Italy) and Johannes Krause (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany), also identified new genes in Ötzi. These genes are linked to certain physical traits (phenotypes) and specific predispositions: slightly curly hair, black hair color, a tendency to develop metabolic disorders linked to obesity, and baldness.

These findings add to those reported in a 2012 article published in Nature Communications by an international team also led by Albert Zink (Bolzano). These researchers indicated at the time that the Iceman probably had brown eyes, darker skin than that of modern Europeans, was blood type O, and was lactose intolerant.

Furthermore, the Iceman had an increased risk of coronary artery disease, which could explain the arterial calcifications already observed. Finally, the presence of sequences corresponding to the genome of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi makes him the oldest known case of infection with the Lyme disease pathogen.

Even today, science continues to shed light on the exact circumstances of his death. A deep wound to his left shoulder and an arrowhead lodged between his ribcage and shoulder blade are at the heart of recent investigations.

Although X-rays and a first CT scan had been carried out as early as 1991, the arrowhead was not identified until 2001. This observation was published the following year in the Journal of Archaeological Science .

It was not until two years later, in 2003, that the cause and circumstances of Ötzi's death were first published: the death was attributed to hemorrhage following a puncture wound caused by an arrow, in a context that left doubt as to whether it was an accident or a homicide.

It took another four years before an Italian-Swiss team identified a 1.3 cm long laceration of the left subclavian artery, then considered responsible for fatal hemorrhagic shock.

Published in June 2025, a study based on a comparison of Ötzi's injuries with clinical cases challenges this interpretation, and suggests that the Iceman could have survived for several hours after his injury.

Danish and Italian researchers reanalyzed Ötzi's CT images obtained in 2013 to examine the shoulder injury in detail. Using 3D models and forensic animation techniques, they were able to reconstruct the arrow's trajectory, the nature of the injuries, Ötzi's likely posture at the time of impact, and simulate his body movements.

Published on May 21, 2025 in the International Journal of Legal Medicine , this work was carried out by researchers from the Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), in association with their colleagues from the Institute for the Study of Mummies in Bolzano (Italy).

A dehydrated, shrunken and compressed body

Photograph showing dry, contracted skin resulting from the natural mummification process. The eyeballs are completely sunken. The nose is flattened due to the elongated position and probably the weight of ice and snow. — Photograph showing dry, contracted skin resulting from the natural mummification process. The eyeballs are completely collapsed. The nose is flattened due to the lying position and probably the weight of ice and snow. MURPHY WA JR, NEDDEN DZ D, ET AL. RADIOLOGY. 2003 MAR;226(3):614-29.

The aim of this new study was to reanalyze the CT scans taken in 2013 to assess Ötzi's shoulder injury using a forensic approach. To do this, the researchers created 3D models focused specifically on the shoulder structures and calculated the volume of the affected tissue. Using virtual animation techniques, they also sought to reconstruct the arrow's trajectory and the Iceman's likely posture at the time of the shot.

3D reconstructions and virtual animations of the body

Visualization of the wound. (a) Image showing the injury at the skin level, (arrow); the star indicates<span translate= — Visualization of the wound. (a) Image showing the injury at the skin level, (arrow); the star indicates the left scapula. (b) 3D visualization of the skin, showing the injury (arrow). VILLA C, ET AL. INT J LEGAL MED. 2025 MAY 21.

To better understand Ötzi's fatal injury, the researchers analyzed medical images obtained in 2013. Using specialized software, they reconstructed a detailed 3D model of his body. They performed 3D segmentation, which means they extracted and isolated various structures (skin, bones, blood vessels, hematoma, arrowhead) from the CT images in order to represent them separately in a three-dimensional model. This step is essential for precisely visualizing, measuring, and analyzing each element of the body in space.

Chiara Villa and her colleagues at the University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with the Institute for the Study of Mummy in Bolzano, also estimated the volume of certain body parts, such as the brain and the hematoma, to assess the extent of the injuries. Because Ötzi's body showed flattening, the researchers used the skeleton of a recently deceased person of similar height and build to virtually reposition the bones into a realistic anatomical posture. This realigned model was then used to simulate the body's movements at the moment of impact, as well as the trajectory of the arrow, helping to better understand the exact circumstances of his death.

The new data include the extent and volume of the hematoma, as well as precise measurements of the bone perforation and the path of the wound. A 3D animation was used to reconstruct Ötzi's possible posture at the time of the shot.

Virtual autopsy of a prehistoric murder

3D visualization of the left scapula with the dimensions of the hole in the bone. VILLA C, ET AL. INT J LEGAL MED. 2025 MAY 21.

Ötzi's body showed signs of dehydration, shrinkage, and crushing at both the front and back. CT scans showed a puncture wound approximately 0.3 cm in diameter on his left shoulder, located 12 cm from the spine. This injury, caused by an arrowhead still lodged between the ribs and the scapula, resulted in damage to the shoulder muscles (deltoid, infraspinatus, subscapularis), a fracture of the scapula with a hole measuring 3.8 × 1.7 cm, and a laceration of the subclavian artery, which supplies blood to the upper limb.

The researchers identified two straight paths inside the body on the CT images: one from the skin lesion to the arrowhead, the other to the section of the subclavian artery. These two trajectories, close but slightly offset, follow a similar orientation: forward, to the right, and slightly downward. They suggest that the arrow caused several internal injuries along its path.

The forensic animation thus showed that this rectilinear trajectory explains both the injury to the scapula and the section of the artery, shedding new light on the mechanism of the injury.

However, it remains difficult to determine the precise direction and length of these paths because of Ötzi's current body position: his arm is positioned forward, which alters the natural alignment of the scapula. In this posture, the lesions in the skin, scapula, and artery are not perfectly aligned.

A hematoma, previously unidentified

3D visualization of shoulder hematoma. VILLA C, ET AL. INT J LEGAL MED. 2025 MAY 21.

The total volume of the hematoma in the shoulder region was estimated at 64 cm³, which, after adjustment, corresponds to approximately 105 cm³ of blood. This adjustment takes into account an estimated 61% reduction in tissue volume due to dehydration. This figure was calculated from 3D models showing that the brain volume was reduced to only 626 cm³, compared to approximately 1574 cm³ for the cranial cavity. This correction is essential, as mummification significantly reduced the volume of Ötzi's overall tissue.

The authors believe that this blood volume alone appears insufficient to explain death by hemorrhage. According to them, "such a volume does not support rapid death by massive internal hemorrhage. However, external blood loss cannot be excluded."

New information on Ötzi's position and that of his attacker

Two possible flexion postures of Ötzi at the moment of the attack. — Two possible flexion postures of Ötzi at the time of the attack. VILLA C, ET AL. INT J LEGAL MED. 2025 MAY 21.

To better understand the arrow's trajectory, the researchers used animation techniques to virtually reposition Ötzi's arm along his body, restoring a more realistic anatomical alignment of the shoulder. This reconstruction revealed that the path of the wound, from the skin to the artery, actually followed a straight, forward trajectory.

By then animating Ötzi's entire body in a standing position, they found that the arrow's trajectory corresponded to a posture where Ötzi was standing at the moment of impact. Simulations with different body inclinations also showed that the arrow's trajectory was directed downward, suggesting that the shooter was higher up than Ötzi at the time of the shot. "However, it remains unclear whether Ötzi saw his attacker or was fleeing when he was hit. Our results nevertheless suggest that his shoulder and arm were in a relaxed position, aligned alongside his body," the authors state.

By harnessing the latest technological advances in forensic science, such as 3D segmentation and virtual body animation, this new research sheds new light, 5,300 years later, on the nature and mechanism of a fatal injury. The mystery of this "cold case," long buried beneath the snow, is gradually melting away.

To find out more:

Villa C, Larsen S, Zink A, Lynnerup N. Ötzi the Iceman: forensic 3D reconstructions of a 5300-year-ago murder case . Int J Legal Med. 2025 May 21. doi: 10.1007/s00414-025-03510-5

Weber J, Wahl J, Zink A. Tyrolean Iceman's arrow injury to the shoulder: new insights into extent and survival time . J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2025 Jun;34(6):e305-e308. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2024.09.034

Wang K, Prüfer K, Krause-Kyora B, et al. High-coverage genome of the Tyrolean Iceman reveals unusually high Anatolian farmer ancestry . Cell Genom. 2023 Aug 16;3(9):100377. doi: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100377

Keller A, Graefen A, Ball M, et al. New insights into the Tyrolean Iceman's origin and phenotype as inferred by whole-genome sequencing . Nat Commun. 2012 Feb 28;3:698. doi:10.1038/ncomms1701

Gostner P, Pernter P, Bonatti G, et al. New radiological insights into the life and death of the Tyrolean Iceman . J Archaeol Sci. 2011;38(12):3425-3431. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2011.08.003

Pernter P, Gostnera P, Vigl E, et al. Radiologic proof for the Iceman's cause of death (ca. 5'300BP) . J Archaeol Sci. 2007;34(11):1784-1786. doi:10.5167/uzh-30169

Murphy WA Jr, Nedden Dz D, et al. The iceman: discovery and imaging . Radiology. 2003 Mar;226(3):614-29. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2263020338

Pabst, MA, Letofsky-Papst, I., Bock, E., et al. The tattoos of the Tyrolean Iceman: a light microscopical, ultrastructural and element analytical study . J Archaeol Sci. 2009;36(10):2335–41. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2009.06.016

Marc Gozlan

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