An Ice-Cold Case

Radiolab

• Episode: An Ice-Cold Case
• Website: Radiolab
• Feed URL: http://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab
• Duration: 00:21:33
• Published: 2013-11-19 21:20

Scientists' obsession with one particular man - and with the tiny scraps of evidence left in the wake of his death - gives us a surprisingly intimate peek into the life of someone who should've been lost to the ages.

A little over 20 years ago, a perfectly preserved corpse was found buried in the ice, high up in the Alps. And after decades of investigating, cutting-edge forensics have revealed not only a murder mystery, but a startling story about one man's final days.

When hikers first found Ötzi (the nickname given to the body discovered in 1991), everyone assumed they'd stumbled upon an unfortunate mountaineering accident. But as the body was pulled from the ice, authorities started to suspect this wasn't a modern-day adventure gone wrong. It was, as producer Andy Mills explains, an OLD body. Really, really old. 

Botanist Jim Dickson, graphic artist Aaron Birk, and Albert Zinc, head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, describe how scientific advances and modern forensic breakthroughs have uncovered an ancient tale of violence and humanity.