Ótzi on the border

The basis of this dispute struck me as the strangest from the start. Ótzi lay right on the international border, literally on the border line, and even the most accurate maps available couldn't determine which slope his body was on.

The border wasn't clearly defined in the field. When it was drawn in 1922 (after World War I, South Tyrol was ceded to Italy), the entire area was buried in snow, and much of it was covered by glaciers much thicker than today. Driving border posts into the flowing ice would have been pointless. Was this just an incredible coincidence, or was there something more to it?

If we rule out such an extraordinary coincidence, we can assume that Ótzi died precisely because he tried to cross the border. And borders have always been very dangerous places. The one between Austria and Italy is a natural one—it runs along the main ridge between peaks. The tribes inhabiting Neolithic Europe also had to mark the boundaries between their territories, and humans are a highly territorial species.

Is there any evidence to support such a bold hypothesis? It turns out that there is. Ótzi died in battle, not from hunger or exhaustion, as previously believed.