Discover Magazine: Was Ötzi the Iceman Buried With Pomp and Circumstance?
“They used a modeling technique called spatial point pattern analysis to make a map of how Ötzi’s goods–including axe, dagger, quiver, backpack, and unfinished bow–got to their final resting places. Specifically, the analysis determines how Ötzi’s surroundings froze and thawed over time. The researchers say the scattering is consistent with a ceremonial burial and that Ötzi’s tribe may have placed his possessions around him on a nearby stone platform.”
Comments:
Big jump from ‘man-alone’ to ‘tribe ceremony.’ Color me doubtful, this sounds like wishful thinking, bolstered by a bit of computer tech.
The bottom line is, there’s no way for us to know. We only know Utzi was a state-of-the-art homo sapiens who died in agony. Everything else is pure conjecture. I wonder if the Utzi Museum folks are just trying to increase their visitor-count!
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Interesting…