WITH SHAUN WALLACE September 19, 1991

A5,000-year-old frozen mummy was discovered in sheets of melting ice on the Alpine border of Italy and Austria. Nicknamed Otzi, after the Otztal Alps, the remains provided a treasure trove of information about the lives of our Copper Age ancestors.

Otzi lived between 3400 and 3100BC, was

5ft 3in and about 45 years old when he died.

His belongings were scattered around his body, including a bow and arrows, a copper axe, a flint dagger and a leather pouch.

He wore a bearskin hat, a cloak of woven grass, leggings and a leather loincloth. His shoes were complex and waterproof.

Scientific analysis revealed tantalising clues about his lifestyle. Pollen and the composition of tooth enamel suggested he had grown up near what is now the village of Feldthurns, 30 miles south of his final resting place. His stomach contained ibex meat and wheat