Prehistoric Iceman could have died during fall

A 5,300-year-old prehistoric iceman, Oetzi, could possibly be the world’s first known mountaineering victim, a new study has suggested.

The ancient natural mummy was believed to have died 5,300 years ago when an arrow hit him during a hunting trip.

But, now the new studies at Austria’s Innsbruck University have revealed that Oetzi is more likely to have died during a fall while he was climbing, the Daily Mail reported.

Experts will now have a new body-mapping scan of his remains to check if his injuries could have been sustained accidentally.

“His death could have been a mountaineering accident rather than him being shot by an arrow as previously thought,” study head Wolfgang Recheis said.

“The arrow injury could have been an old injury,” he added.

Oetz was discovered frozen in September 1991 by a couple of German tourists trekking through the Oetz Valley, after which he was named.

He was around 46 years old when he met his violent death.

http://www.phenomenica.com/2011/11/prehistoric-iceman-could-have-died.html