(4 of 7)
For further protection, the Iceman wore a woven grass cape over the garment similar to those used by Tyrolean shepherds as late as the early part of this century. His well-worn size-6 shoes were made of leather and stuffed with grass for warmth. Last month an Italian expedition turned up an additional furry piece of the Iceman's wardrobe, probably a cap.
The Iceman's equipment revealed an unexpected degree of sophistication. His copper ax was initially mistaken by Spindler as evidence that the find dated from the Bronze rather than the Neolithic Age. But the blade turned out to be nearly pure copper, not bronze.
To archaeologists, the Iceman's fur quiver is an even rarer prize. "It is the only quiver from the Neolithic period found in the whole world," Egg marvels. Its cargo of feathered arrows marks another first. Carved from viburnum and dogwood branches, a dozen of them were unfinished. But two were primed for shooting -- with flint points and feathers. The feathers had been affixed with a resin-like glue at an angle that would cause spin in flight and help maintain a true course. "It is significant that ballistic principles were known and applied," says Notdurfter. The quiver also held an untreated sinew that could be made into a bowstring; a ball of fibrous cord; the thorn of a deer's antler, which could be used to skin an animal; and four antler tips, tied together with grass.
The bow, which had not yet been notched for a bowstring, is made of yew, which Egg explains is "the best wood in Central Europe for bowmaking and the wood the famous English longbows -- like Robin Hood's -- were made of." Yew is relatively rare in the Alps, but the Iceman had searched out "the best material."
The Neolithic climber was also armed with a tiny flint dagger with a wooden handle; a net of grass, which possibly served as a carrying bag; and a pencil- size stone-and-linden tool that was probably used to sharpen arrowheads and blades. Two birchbark canisters may have been used to carry the embers from a fire, Egg speculates. The Iceman apparently toted much of his gear in a primitive rucksack with a U-shaped wooden frame.
Homo tyrolensis, as some scientists have dubbed him, also had a leather pouch resembling a small version of the "fanny packs" worn by tourists today. Inside he carried a sharpened piece of bone, probably used to make sewing holes in leather, and a flint-stone drill and blade. A sloeberry, probably his snack food, was found at the site, along with two mushrooms strung on a knotted leather cord. The mushrooms have infection-fighting properties and may have been part of the world's oldest-known first-aid kit. The only decorative item, possibly a talisman, was a small, doughnut-shaped stone disk, with a tassel of string.
THE ICEMAN'S FINAL HOURS