The 5,300-year-old Alpine Iceman or Oetzi died as a result of massive blood loss from a ruptured artery, the Swiss-Italian team working on him revealed.
It is assumed that he was trying to hide from his captors when the arrow struck him in the left shoulder slitting the artery under his collarbone. It was a quick death. This assessment is based on the presence of a flint arrowhead lodged in his back and extensive cuts to his hands.
The remains of this Neolithic man emerged from a melting glacier in 1991 on the border between Austria and Italy.
Since the discovery, researchers have been working on him to find out what all happened with the man.
A long series of investigations have been carried on him, with the latest results being published in the Journal of Archaeological Science .
The tree pollen found in his stomach reveals that Oetzi started his day with a meal in a wooded valley below the Alps. The same day he was involved in a fight that led to his death.
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. His death was immediate because blood poured out into the surrounding tissue, forming a haematoma that can be seen in the breast cavity.
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.
Oetzi climbed up to the Schnalstal Glacier and died of cardiac arrest, brought on by shock, after losing so much blood.
Scientists have modelled the arrowhead embedded in his back
The University of Zurich researchers said that it is impossible to tell whether Oetzi was hit while he was walking, running, or stationary, but the speed with which he died following his injury makes it seem more likely that he was shot on the glacier, rather than in the valley below where he started his journey. But, his killer was below him either kneeling or down the hill.
Oetzi takes his name from the Oetz Valley where he was found – still wearing goatskin leggings and a grass cape. His copper-headed axe and a quiver full of arrows were lying nearby. Oetzi was about 159cm tall (5ft, 2.5in), 46 years old, arthritic, and infested with whipworm.
Initially, it was thought he died from cold and hunger, but researchers eventually established that he died from injuries sustained in a conflict.