Iceman Research Paper

There are many different theories and conclusions about the death of the Iceman. Konrad Spindler, who led the team studying the body, concluded that Iceman was a shepherd living in a farming community close to the Val Venosta. Iceman was well equipped for long absences and his general health was good although he did have some health problems. Most scholars’ opinions however, are conflicted about how and why he died.

According to Spindler, Iceman was a shepherd and may have lived in a farming village near the Val Venosta. Most historians agree that Iceman came from the Val Venosta are because of the similarity in flint found on Iceman and at the Val Venosta site. Perhaps the most convincing reason that Iceman came from the Val Venosta was
The Iceman carried with him a yew bow, a quiver made from a fur bag with a hazel wood rod tied to the side for support. 14 arrows (12 of which were incomplete), a flint knife with an ash handle and scabbard, an axe with a copper blade attached with leather thronging. Two mushrooms on leather strips for “medicinal” purposes. A retoucher for Iceman’s dagger, arrowheads & axe, a net of grass strings, a backpack with hazel wood frame. Two cylindrical birch-bark containers, and, a belt pouch & contents such a flint scraper, a possible drilling tool, a blade for carving, an awl for punching holes in leather and tree fungi, possibly for tinder. All these weapons and pieces of equipment would have helped the Iceman to defend himself from other humans or wild animals. He would have also been able to hunt for sufficient food to sustain himself. Based in the evidence, historians have assumed that Iceman may have been a shepherd and the weapons used to defend his flock. Based on his equipment, an equally valid theory is that the Iceman was a nomadic hunter. We can never be sure of his exact