The Man In The Ice

Konrad Spindler
The Man In The Ice
Weidenfeld and Nicolson: London, 1994
This accessible account of the discovery of a prehistoric body in the Ötztaler Alps on the Austrian-Hungarian Border in 1991 is written by the leader of the scientific investigation, a chair of prehistory and early history at the University of Innsbruck. The perfectly preserved body and associated artefacts from the Neolithic period were revealed as a result of glacial retreat. The body sparked wide popular interest and was soon named 'Ötzi' by the world's media. As well as recording the complex scientific and criminal procedures involved in the investigation, the author documents the wider cultural offshoots of the discovery, including contemporary newspaper cartoons (to which he takes a dispassionate approach). The Ötzi Archive, which likewise seeks what can be salvaged from global ice melt, and strives to preserve these artefacts in turn, is proud to be the Iceman's namesake.
306 pages, with 32 pages of colour illustrations and 23 line drawings.
(£1.50)