Alps artefacts predate Oetzi the Iceman

by Rich Bowden - Aug 24 2008, 22:03

Melting glaciers in the Swiss Alps region have revealed artefacts predating the discovery of Oetzi the Iceman, the frozen body found in an Austrian glacier in 1991.

Img: Swiss Alps. Credit: David G.../flickr

Experts from the University of Berne in Switzerland are currently examining the rare discovery of bows, quivers, pieces of leather and wooden bowls, some of which date back to 4,500 BC, making them the oldest finds in the Alps and predating Oetzi who is believed to have lived around 3,300 BC.

Img: Oetzi the Iceman, discovered in 1991. Credit: Unknown/Wikipedia

“We know now that the discoveries... are the oldest of this kind ever made in the Alps,” commented Albert Hafner, who is in charge of the archaeological service at the University of Berne. The finds were originally made when a couple of curious Swiss hikers, walking through the 2,756m Schnidejoch glacier, found an unusual piece of wood that caught their eye. Carrying it back down with them, the hikers presented the artefact to the University, which, after careful examination, found it to be an arrow quiver made from birch bark and dating from around 3,000 BC. While initially keeping the discovery from the public in order to deter trophy hunters, further expeditions by the University to the glacier site revealed even more rare discoveries."Finds in the Alps are very rare anyway," explained Hafner, chief archaeologist with the canton of Berne. "But this is unique; we don't know of a quiver like this anywhere else in the world.""We now have the complete bow equipment, quiver and arrows," he added. "And we have, surprisingly, a lot of organic material like leather, parts of shoes and a trouser leg, that we wouldn't normally find."The experts say the finds link to times of climate warming on the planet that would have made the Alps more accessible to humans.

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JeffAug 24th, 2008 - 23:33:15

Natural climate variation made the Alps warm? One more reason I don't believe in anthropogenic global warming. That didn't show up very well on the hockey stick graph...

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rosenAug 31st, 2008 - 02:14:58

i think its all rue we have benn doing an annsimaent on him, and i think youll sould more information.

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roseAug 31st, 2008 - 02:16:45

every since we did an ansiment on this guy we have not been able to picture his past. but thanks to you guys know the formar students can see

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J-dudeOct 2nd, 2008 - 23:03:41

This guy is cool

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lexxOct 29th, 2008 - 21:13:47

hi my name is lex,i go to jonas salk middle school. im in 6th grade. we had a whole lesson on thee iceman.very interesting. there is possibalee ways he couldd of died.personaly,i think he bleed to death from the arrow.
uhmm, oh yeah he is in a museam in italy. also archaeologist had to get to the site as soon as possibale because by the time winter came they would have to dig up 600 tons of snow.The 'ice man' was found in autumn. if you want to learn more about the iceman google The Iceman of the Alps.
thanks for reading my comment.

BEST OF LUCK WITH ANY PROJECTSSSSS -LEXXX

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BobNov 6th, 2008 - 20:02:22

Iceman of the Alps Oetzi awsome name i guss my name bob is awsome too im named after my grandpa i wonder who the Iceman is named afteri camt believe he is over 5,300 years old omg lol sooooooooooooo I think archaeologists have a awsome job i love thee Iceman

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