Ever since his discovery in the pass known as Tisenjoch, the Neolithic man called Otzi has been a center of attention for many scientists. Modern technology has played a big part in what we have learned about Otzi. .
Modern science has contributed greatly to the advances we have made on Otzi. X-rays have been a huge help in all we have learned so far. They lead to the discovery that Otzi died from being shot in the back with an arrow instead of what was earlier theorized that he died after breaking his ribs in a battle and dying in the mountains. X-rays also lead to the discovery that Otzi had arteriosclerosis and osteoarthritis, as well as a possible stroke. They also concluded that Otzi had suffered a broken rib, however they could not determine whether or not it was before or after his death. .
Another piece of modern technology that aided in discoveries made on Otzi was the tools used by Dr. Klaus Oeggl. He examined just about 40 milligrams of material from Otzi's colon, discovering that Otzi had the remains of cooked bread made from einkorn, a primitive variety of wheat. He also concluded that Otzi had died in late spring, due to the remains of the pollen from a plant known as hop hornbeam. .
A key to the preservation of Otzi was keeping his body in, as close to, the environment he was found in as possible. When he was in Innsbruck he was kept in a refrigerated room packed in crushed ice. Dr. Platzer infrequently allowed the body out to be examined, and when he did it was only for thirty minutes at a time. However, when he was moved to South Tirol he was kept in a chilled display vault that is kept within one degree of freezing at all times. .
The tools that were found with Otzi prove that early man had a better grasp of the technology they had than we gave them credit for. Scientists discovered a bronze ax with the body that changed the general time, which we believed the invention of copper smelting in the alpine region.