Who killed Otzi the Iceman? A 5,300 year old 5th Grade Social Studies Murder Mystery.

Grade 5 began this year by studying mankind’s oldest cold case. (Pun intended.) Discovered in 1991 in the Italian Alps, Otzi the Iceman is the oldest and best preserved natural mummy ever found. Having spent 5,300 years encased in ice, Otzi’s body has been a treasure trove of information for scientists studying what life was like at the end of the Stone Age. But after an arrowhead was discovered in his back (without the arrow shaft), the question soon became much deeper than how he died, but who killed him, and why?

The students completed a study on the life and death of Otzi, and in doing so, learned more about a 5,300 year old corpse than you could ever possibly need to. They learned about his clothing (a bearskin cap!), weapons (a copper ax from the Stone Age?!?!), tools, prehistoric fanny pack with medicine and a fire starter kit, and even about the last things he ate (once his stomach was discovered up under his rib cage).

The students traced his final movements from plant debris found on his clothes, pollen found on his clothes and in his stomach, and lichen found in his gut from the streams he drank from.

Looking at all of this evidence found around him, combined with wounds to his hand, the students were able to piece together Otzi’s final hours in the Alps. With this information, they can now tell the story of Otzi the Iceman’s final moments alive and the unique circumstances surrounding his murder. So, why was he killed? I’m not giving anything away here. You’ll have to look it up yourself. But trust me, it’s a fascinating story.