This Artifact Was Unknown Before Ötzi the Iceman

What happens when you find something you've never seen before? In 1991, hikers walking along the Tyrolean Alps stumbled across a mummified body. This body would later become known as Ötzi the Iceman, one of the world's most famous mummies who lived and died 5,300 years ago. Next to Ötzi, they found his belongings. But this object piqued the curiosity of archaeologists because they had never seen this kind of artifact before. Hi, I'm Dr. Smitty Nathan, and I'm an archaeologist. In this video, we're going to explore this artifact and how researchers pieced together not only what it was, but how it was used. When this object was initially found, researchers could tell it was a 12-centimeter-long sharpened tool. When they did further analysis, they learned that this object was made from a piece of stripped European lime tree branch that had been sharpened at one end, similar to how a pencil would be sharpened. A fragment of black antler was then hammered into the core of the branch and is visible poking out of the sharpened end. Now, it's important to note that the black color of the antler likely occurred after the object was originally used, and this is likely due to chemical reactions that happened after the object was deposited into the ground. Since this type of artifact was unknown before the discovery of Ötzi, the object's use initially puzzled researchers. Researchers did a series of experiments and scientific analyses to figure out what this was. Based on their research, they think this object was used to sharpen flint blades. They called it a retouché, which comes from its use in shaping and retouching flint tools. The retouché has helped archaeologists to learn more about the tools and methods used to make them during Ötzi's time. When making a stone tool, flint material would first be roughly hammered into the desired shape. In this case, it was likely a blade. The retouché was then used to make the form more precise and sharp. When tools became blunt, the retouché was used to sharpen them. And when the retouché itself became blunt, the antler point was sharpened like a pencil, ready to be used again. Ötzi's mummified body and his belongings are located in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. In addition to stone tools, Ötzi's clothing and undigested food remains in his intestines help us reconstruct his life and death. You can learn more about this in our videos on Lost Socks and Ancient Diseases, both of which feature Ötzi and are linked below. This video is part of our Artifact of the Day series, where we take a quick look at one intriguing object from the past. If you're interested in watching another Artifact of the Day video, check out the video here.