Customer Reviews

The Man in the Ice: The Discovery of a 5,000-Year-Old Body Reveals the Secrets of the Stone Age (Hardcover)

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In 1991 the Alpine glacier ice had already given up five bodies before a sixth was discovered by passing hikers. The previous five had been in the ice from 10 to 57 years. The sixth had been held suspended in the very spot where he died, for 5,000 years.

The excitement of this momentous discovery quickly degenerated into farce as nations began squabbling over jurisdiction. Was the man found in Italian or Austrian territory? Konrad Spindler, the first archaeologist to examine the body and intimately involved in its study ever since, reports this bureaucratic wrangling as scrupulously as he does every other detail of the find in this thorough and absorbing book.

He begins at the beginning, with the hikers who spotted the emerging head and shoulders and goes on to mention every other person who arrived at the site, tourists as well as officials and recovery experts. Although this at first seems puzzlingly excessive, it's important.

Recovery, made difficult by the weather and the reluctance of the glacier, was suspenseful, interrupted, and involved a certain amount of hacking and other disturbance. But the glacier preserved the iceman (and yes, Spindler explains exactly how) so perfectly that tourist photos and recollections of the scene are important to reconstructing his final hours. The picture that emerges is so clear and intriguing, it's amazing that -in fiction - so far only a children's novel has been inspired.

The iceman was clearly a mountaineer accustomed to spending prolonged periods far from home (his carefully sewn garments were crudely mended and his teeth were worn from a steady diet of dried meat). Spindler describes his clothing - from water-shedding grass cloak to leather loin cloth and grass-stuffed shoes - in every detail, from the first steps of construction through each sign of wear, explaining why pelts would be cut just so and how sinews are dried and frayed for superior thread.

Among the man's possessions were a birch bark container that once held a live ember for the man's camp fire. Modern science could detect traces of previous embers, indicating, through the wood used, the various terrains the man had crossed. Also found were fire making supplies, a belt pouch containing tools, a dagger, a net Spindler speculates was used for snaring birds and, most interesting, an unfinished bow stave, and, in his arrow quiver, two broken arrows and a number of unbroken, unfinished arrows.

From this last, and from the iceman's broken ribs, scientists deduce he had, no more than two months previous to his death, encountered a violent event which probably involved other humans and may have caused him to flee into the mountains at a dangerous time of year, exhaustion and bad weather contributing to his death.

Spindler's final section (save for his disapproving comments on other, more sensational reactions to the find) concerns life in the Neolithic Age and where the iceman fit in. This includes a lot if interesting tidbits, such as the fact, determined from pollen research, that agricultural grazing began on the high slopes rather than the valleys, as well as technical data more detailed than the average reader is looking for.

All in all, a fascinating book, if not scintillating with wit and adventurous suppositions. Spindler will leave that to the fictionalizers.

I was in college when Otzi was found, and I didn't have time to read up on the excavation, so this book was a welcome surprise for me one day when I was browsing the science section of my local bookstore. Sensitive, yet scholarly, Spindler recounts his experience in fascinating detail while preserving the unfortunate man's dignity. Although translated from the original German, Spindler's profound respect and professionalism show through, particularly in his description of the state of the body and of the controversy and rumors surrounding the genitalia. I found the whole book to be well-organized, divided into six sections describing the discovery, the equipment,the clothing, the body, background information on the region and neolithic culture, and "public reactions to the find". I disagree with a previous reviewer's complaint about Spindler's "conjecture"; of course it is, since there are no written records from 5000 years ago. However, all of his speculation about the Iceman's occupation, etc. seems to be soundly based on what we DO know about anthropology, the region's history, flora and fauna, technology of the time, and previous finds from similar cultures. Also, don't let the metric measurements ruin your enjoyment of the book; many rulers now have English and metric measurements on opposite sides, providing for easy comparison. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this book for anyone interested in learning about the Iceman.

Konrad Spindler should know what he is talking about. After all, he was in charge of the high-profile, no expense spared, scientific investigation of the fantastically fortuituous find of "the Iceman," found beneath a receeding glacier in the Austrian Alps in 1991.

Imagine you are Konrad Spindler(the author). An accomplished archaeologist, you are settling down to normal duties on an otherwise uneventful morning in a modest academic institution, you receive a call to view an "unusual corpse" found recently in the mountains, and then, after viewing a smorgasboard of 4,000 year old implements on a table in near pristine (for archaeologists) condition, and a full, well-preserved body of a long-dead ancient European, and saying coyley, in front of a few sceptical onlookers, "at least 4,000 years old, maybe older." The media, quite rightly, hit the roof with excitement, as did the university administration, the police, journalists from all over the world, tourists and the like. And, just as amazing as any of the events that transpired, necessary equipment for your department was delivered promptly, security of site and items was attained promptly and without argument, funding for research was granted immediately, and well trained archaeologists, scientists and faithful historians embarked on a well-funded, well-orchestrated, (if not well prepared) investigation into the "man in the ice," and his secrets. The stuff science is made of.

This is that story, faithully told by that archeologist, Konrad Spindler. It is excitingly and humurously written, and thoughtfully analyzed. The iceman had (has!) many secrets to tell, there was indeed many items and implemements that were recovered on his person, or nearby, from a time in European history (pre-Roman, pre-Greek, pre just about everybody), in which we had very little information at all. One item for example, a copper axe, is the only item of its kind from this time which survives to this day. And there are many other implements he was carrying, perhaps undertaking a long journey over the mountains? -- (which you will have to read for yourself).

A fascinating and insightful story of modern science, adventure and archaeology at its best. Described as arguably the archaeological find of the century, a must read for the interested layperson and scientist alike.

This is probably going to be the best book about Otzi the Iceman available, divided into six sections. It details every aspect of the find from a sometimes tedious day-by-day account of the process of excavation, to a close description of all items. The sections I found to be the most interesting were those describing the Icemans wares, weapons, and clothing, in addition to a summary of life around the Alps in Neolithic times, as part of an attempt to understand the circumstances surrounding his life and death. Spinder understandably comments on the uglier aspects of the find, such as the fights for media attention and everyone trying to get a piece of the Iceman (figuratively and literally), and clearly separates this from the purely scientific analysis of the find. The book contains many color pictures of the excavation, artifacts, and body, including other illustrations as required. Also a glossary of technical terms to assist the reader. It must be remembered, though, that this is primarily a book about a corpse and contains detailed pictures in color. It's depth of detail may seem tedious, and I assuredly would have rather not seen all measurements given in Metric. The overall rating is simply based on my overall impression of the book, but it probably stands as being the prime treatment of the subject matter.

Doctor Konrad Spinzer in this book (my version translated by Ewald Osers apparently from Der Mann im Eis: Die Otztaler Mumie verrat die Geheimnisse der Steinzeit (German Edition)) lays out for us all of the evidence known at the time of publication, a few years after the felicitous discovery in 1991 in the high, distant, extensive Otzal Alps, a discovery which might never have been made but for the greatest chance and the vicissitudes of weather conditions and a passing pair of hikers.

Considering how the body was first treated, we can be grateful that so much of "Otzi" and his artifacts were preserved at all for real scientific examination. Certainly neither archeological nor forensic techniques were at first implemented in the excavation; apparently a jackhammer was, which bit off much of one thigh.

Here free of popular fiction and speculation we have the best thought and evidence available at the time. If any other book exists with such compelling evidence, I hope to find it; this is the best available as far as I can tell, and the best written as well, very well laid out, logically, with all of the skill and technique of a scientist, as compelling as any case laid out by Sherlock Holmes, but real, with no fanciful guesswork.

Please read this book through, and then carefully study the various sections, and consider our own cultural past, from the Bronze Age (the subtitle at least may wish some tweaking - perhaps something was lost in translation).

A very inspiring account, amazing and informative to us now. Spindler indicates other relevant areas for exploration and sums up the solid research from related fields of anthropology and archaeology, as Spindler himself is expert in these fields.

If anyone knows of more recent and thorough research than these initial findings, please indicate precise sources, more than what you have seen on television (I have none), and I will be very grateful. As it is, Spindler has both first and last word in this important discovery of our five thousand year old brother.

If this is the only book you expect to ever read about the mummified Neolithic corpse found in the ice in 1991 then buy it. It is worth reading for the excellent and detailed description of the equipment which belonged to this long dead being. If, however, you have watched the PBS show on ice mummies or read some of the monographs on the subject on the Net, you realize that much of Spindler's book is baseless conjecture and that he omits important medical data. Bottom line: when a really excellent and definitive volume on the Ice Man is written this book will be relegated to the out of print section of Amazon books. I felt hungry and dissatisfied when I finished this book which, by the way, took me two hours to read. It is very light reading.

The man in the ice was subject to an autopsy in November of 2010, which has been presented on PBS' NOVA Series, Fall 2011. Therefore, the book really needs an updated edition. Granted that analysis of the new results will continue to take years, but any 1996 paperback edition of the book is still way behind the current science. One needs to add the new NOVA dvd to stay up to date, or take the budget approach (: ), and print out the new essay on the autopsy at the nationalgeographic.com by Stephen Hall, and tuck it into the back of your book.

This is a very interesting, well-documented look into the discovery of a Neolithic era man, nicknamed Otzi, found preserved in a mountain glacier. The author, an expert in anthropology and archaeology, gives precise, day-to-day details of the discovery and extraction of the man's body and belongings. Many, many photographs, drawings and maps included.

A fascinating account of what life might have been like some 5,000 years ago on the border of Austria and Switzerland.

One more thing: - This book was published in 1994. For more up-to-date information, I suggest checking out the website of the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.

I bought this book to get a better idea of what tools and clothing man was using 5,000 years ago. There is much more detail about these items in this book than can be found on the internet.

Konrad Spindler's The Man in the Ice is a good account of the discovery and early analytical testing of the of Otzi as the mummy soon will be called.

Spindler has broken the story up into three parts. The first discusses the discovery and the recovery of the body. Thought at first to be just another hapless soul that found his demise hiking in the Southern Tyrol not more than 50 years ago, an event that does not interest anyone. As a matter of fact he is just one of eight found so far that year. Both the Austrian and Italian governments are notified of the find since the area is right on the border between their respective jurisdictions. Austria takes the lead in the recovery as Italy seems uninterested. Soon however,it becomes apparent that the body is much older which peeks the interest of the media and the Italian government as well. The second section discusses the find in great detail, describing each item and the persons involved in their analysis. The last section gives the reader Spindler's spin on who Otzi was and how he came to be on that mountain path 5000 years ago.

Although much of the initial analysis has been revised due to the use of new techniques, Spindler's book still remains a good example of what archaeology is all about. The glamor of the find is only a very small part of the over all picture it takes sometimes years of work in the laboratory to bring the whole story to light.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in knowig what it is like to be an Archaeologist.