6 ms·

Doesn't explain why Otzi's valuable possessions weren't taken by the avenger. The artifacts were likely left behind because Otzi had ties to the village. Taking

Doesn't explain why Otzi's valuable possessions weren't taken by the avenger. The artifacts were likely left behind because Otzi had ties to the village. Taking those possessions would have tied the avenger to his actions, likely putting the avenger at risk all over again.

Gibbon1 10y ago
Could be difference between owning your dead fathers axe and owning the axe that a vagabond used to kill people in the village.
- int_19h 10y ago
  The value of a metal axe in that time was immense. It seems unlikely that such sentiments would be sufficient justification to just leave it there.
  - Gibbon1 10y ago
    I tend to assume if metal tools were extremely expensive then they would be not commonly in use. 3500 years after Otzi, there are Roman prices for stuff. https://www.academia.edu/23644199/New_English_translation_of_the_Price_Edict_of_Diocletianus https://www.academia.edu/23644199/New_English_translation_of... This gives a days unskilled labor at 25 Denarii, where a lb of Hammered Bronze was 60 Denarii.
    - int_19h 10y ago
      3500 years is a very big difference in terms of metallurgy, though. Note that all other blades that Otzi carried were stone. I suspect they were used a lot more than that axe. On the other hand, if you're really someone who moves a lot alone or in small groups, having (and using) a tool like that would make the difference between having and not having dinner quite often, for example. In essence, the value of the tool comes from actually using it.
    - nickbauman 10y ago
      3500 after Otzi is late Iron age. Otzi was pre Bronze-age. Borderline neolithic.
oska 10y ago
Perhaps he was shot with the arrow on the edge of a cliff and then fell down into/onto the glacier. The killer wasn't able to take his effects because they were irretrievable from the place into which he fell.
- aedron 10y ago
  This seems by far the most likely reason. Few scenarios would explain why such valuable possessions were left alone. He had obviously been involved in an altercation with some controversy, otherwise he would have seeked treatment rather than go up into the mountains. So his slaying would not have been a secret that needed to be covered up, as this article posits as the reason for his belongings being untouched.
  - eyko 10y ago
    "Inspector Horn reckons Ötzi was in no hurry. At 10,500 feet, he made what appeared to be a camp in a protected gully on the mountain saddle, spreading his belongings around and sitting down to his last meal." It seems the site where he was found was the actual camp site.
    - aedron 10y ago
      How do they determine that, though? All of the artifacts appear to be belongings that he would be carrying with him, as far as I can tell. Perhaps the location is inherently very accessible? But that could have changed over millennia (which might also explain why he turned up after so long).
      - eyko 10y ago
        Perhaps it's the way his belongings were scattered around - not like they fell from his hands after a fall but like he had put them down and camped. > Inspector Horn reckons Ötzi was in no hurry. At 10,500 feet, he made what appeared to be a camp in a protected gully on the mountain saddle, spreading his belongings around and sitting down to his last meal. Of course, it's also possible that his killer was the one who camped there after klling him, went through his belongings, and discarded the ones that were found. Although why would they leave his axe behind? At the very least I would've taken the bronze blade, from the axe.

Gibbon1 10y ago

Could be difference between owning your dead fathers axe and owning the axe that a vagabond used to kill people in the village.

int_19h 10y ago
The value of a metal axe in that time was immense. It seems unlikely that such sentiments would be sufficient justification to just leave it there.
- Gibbon1 10y ago
  I tend to assume if metal tools were extremely expensive then they would be not commonly in use. 3500 years after Otzi, there are Roman prices for stuff. https://www.academia.edu/23644199/New_English_translation_of_the_Price_Edict_of_Diocletianus https://www.academia.edu/23644199/New_English_translation_of... This gives a days unskilled labor at 25 Denarii, where a lb of Hammered Bronze was 60 Denarii.
  - int_19h 10y ago
    3500 years is a very big difference in terms of metallurgy, though. Note that all other blades that Otzi carried were stone. I suspect they were used a lot more than that axe. On the other hand, if you're really someone who moves a lot alone or in small groups, having (and using) a tool like that would make the difference between having and not having dinner quite often, for example. In essence, the value of the tool comes from actually using it.
  - nickbauman 10y ago
    3500 after Otzi is late Iron age. Otzi was pre Bronze-age. Borderline neolithic.

oska 10y ago

Perhaps he was shot with the arrow on the edge of a cliff and then fell down into/onto the glacier. The killer wasn't able to take his effects because they were irretrievable from the place into which he fell.

aedron 10y ago
This seems by far the most likely reason. Few scenarios would explain why such valuable possessions were left alone. He had obviously been involved in an altercation with some controversy, otherwise he would have seeked treatment rather than go up into the mountains. So his slaying would not have been a secret that needed to be covered up, as this article posits as the reason for his belongings being untouched.
- eyko 10y ago
  "Inspector Horn reckons Ötzi was in no hurry. At 10,500 feet, he made what appeared to be a camp in a protected gully on the mountain saddle, spreading his belongings around and sitting down to his last meal." It seems the site where he was found was the actual camp site.
  - aedron 10y ago
    How do they determine that, though? All of the artifacts appear to be belongings that he would be carrying with him, as far as I can tell. Perhaps the location is inherently very accessible? But that could have changed over millennia (which might also explain why he turned up after so long).
    - eyko 10y ago
      Perhaps it's the way his belongings were scattered around - not like they fell from his hands after a fall but like he had put them down and camped. > Inspector Horn reckons Ötzi was in no hurry. At 10,500 feet, he made what appeared to be a camp in a protected gully on the mountain saddle, spreading his belongings around and sitting down to his last meal. Of course, it's also possible that his killer was the one who camped there after klling him, went through his belongings, and discarded the ones that were found. Although why would they leave his axe behind? At the very least I would've taken the bronze blade, from the axe.