Who is Ötzi the Iceman? The story of a hunter who lived over 5000 years ago
Ötzi was covered by snow and ice soon after his demise, leaving him extremely well-preserved.
A new film, entitled Der Mann Aus Dem Eis or Iceman, follows the life of a man who lived over 5,000 years ago in the Copper Age.
The movie takes place in the Alps, where Ötzi's preserved body was discovered in a melting glacier by hikers in 1991. Scientists know extensive details about his last moments, including that he died 5.300 years ago and was 40 to 50 years old.
In addition, they say he was wearing an outfit of furs and hides, and he had just finished some venison before he was shot in the back with an arrow and subsequently killed.
The ending of the film most likely features the ancient hunter, played by German actor Jürgen Vogel, killed by an arrow to his left shoulder and a knock to the head that left him bleeding out in the snow.
The reason we know so much about Ötzi just before his death is that he was covered by snow and ice soon after his demise, leaving him extremely well-preserved. Scientists have been able to study the contents of his stomach, his more than 60 tattoos, his voice, his clothing, his DNA and more.
Earlier details from Ötzi's life are less established so German director Felix Randau collaborated with researchers at Italy's South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to make them believable.
The movie showcases Ötzi (whose name has been changed to Kelab) following the tribe responsible for his family's death. In an attempt to do the story justice, they speak a made-up language inspired by Raethic, a language native to the region in Roman and pre-Roman eras and shot on location in the South Tyrolean Alps, near where Ötzi was uncovered.
Der Mann Aus Dem Eis hit theaters in Germany last month, but will be released in the US next spring.
