Editing Ötzi (section)

===Tools and equipment===
[[File:Ötzi the Iceman - Lithic assemblage.png|thumb|Lineup of Ötzi's lithic assemblage: {{olist|list_style_type=lower-alpha
  | Dagger
  | Endscraper
  | Small flake
  | Arrowhead 14
  | Arrowhead 12
  | Borer<ref>Wierer, U., Arrighi, S., Bertola, S., Kaufmann, G., Baumgarten, B., Pedrotti, A., Pernter, P. and Pelegrin, J. (2018) "The Iceman's lithic toolkit: Raw material, technology, typology and use". ''PLOS ONE'', '''13'''(6): e0198292. {{doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0198292}} The original caption in Wierer et al. read "The Iceman lithic assemblage. a) Dagger, b) Endscraper, c) Borer, d) Arrowhead 14, e) Arrowhead 12, f) Small flake." The text of Wierer et al.'s paper makes it clear that this a typo and the labels for the borer and small flake have been swapped. e.g.: "The 48.5 mm long artefact known as a borer has its maximum thickness at its maximum width (7.8 x 13.5 mm) (Fig 1F)" and "The smallest item contained in the belt poach is a small flake of 19 x 12.5 x 1.6 mm size (Fig 1C)".</ref>}}]]

Other items found with the Iceman were a copper axe with a [[Taxus baccata|yew]] handle, a [[chert]]-bladed [[knife]] with an [[ash tree|ash]] handle and a [[quiver]] of 14 arrows with [[viburnum]] and [[dogwood]] shafts.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fleur |first=Nicholas St |date=2018-06-21 |title=The Final Hours of the Iceman's Tools |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/science/otzi-iceman-tools.html?rref=collection/column/trilobites |access-date=2018-07-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Petraglia |first=Michael D. |last2=Wierer |first2=Ursula |last3=Arrighi |first3=Simona |last4=Bertola |first4=Stefano |last5=Kaufmann |first5=Günther |last6=Baumgarten |first6=Benno |last7=Pedrotti |first7=Annaluisa |last8=Pernter |first8=Patrizia |last9=Pelegrin |first9=Jacques |year=2018 |editor-last=Petraglia |editor-first=Michael D. |title=The Iceman's lithic toolkit: Raw material, technology, typology and use |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=e0198292 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1398292W |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0198292 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6010222 |pmid=29924811 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Two of the arrows, which were broken, were tipped with flint and had [[fletching]] (stabilizing fins), while the other 12 were unfinished and untipped. The arrows were found in a [[quiver]] with what is presumed to be a [[bow string]], an unidentified tool, and an [[antler]] tool which might have been used for sharpening arrow points.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fowler |first=Brenda |title=Iceman: Uncovering the Life and Times of a Prehistoric Man found in an Alpine Glacier |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-226-25823-2 |location=Chicago, Ill. |pages=105–106}}</ref> There was also an unfinished yew [[longbow]] that was {{cvt|1.82|m|in}} long.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |author-link=Norman Davies |title=Europe: A History |title-link=Europe: A History |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 |location=Oxford}}</ref>

[[File:ReconstructedOetziAxe.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A replica of Ötzi's copper axe]]

In addition, among Ötzi's possessions were [[berries]], two [[birch bark]] baskets, and two species of [[polypore]] [[mushroom]]s with leather strings through them. One of these, the [[birch bracket|birch fungus]], is known to have [[anthelmintic]] properties, and was probably used for medicinal purposes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Capasso |first=Luigi |date=December 1998 |title=5300 years ago, the Ice Man used natural laxatives and antibiotics |journal=Lancet |volume=352 |issue=9143 |pages=1864 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)79939-6 |pmid=9851424 |s2cid=40027370 |doi-access=free}}<!-- note: title of this letter is not relevant to its content --></ref> The other was a type of [[tinder fungus]], included with part of what appeared to be a complex [[firelighting]] kit. The kit featured pieces of over a dozen different plants, in addition to flint and [[pyrite]] for creating sparks.

Ötzi's copper [[axe]] was of particular interest. His axe's [[Axe#Parts of the axe|haft]] is {{cvt|60|cm|in}} long and made from carefully worked [[Taxus#Uses and traditions|yew]] with a right-angled crook at the shoulder, leading to the blade. The {{convert|9.5|cm|in|-long|adj=mid}} axe head is made of almost pure copper.<ref name="Axe">{{Cite web |title=The Axe – Ötzi – South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology |url=http://www.iceman.it/en/node/277 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116010012/http://www.iceman.it/en/node/277 |archive-date=2010-11-16 |access-date=2010-09-12 |website=iceman.it}}</ref> It was produced through [[casting]] and did not undergo mechanical hardening. Despite the fact that copper ore sources in the Alpines are known to have been exploited at the time, a 2017 study indicated that the copper in the axe came from southern [[Tuscany]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Artioli |first=Gilberto |last2=Angelini |first2=Ivana |last3=Kaufmann |first3=Günther |last4=Canovaro |first4=Caterina |last5=Dal Sasso |first5=Gregorio |last6=Villa |first6=Igor Maria |date=2017 |title=Long-distance connections in the Copper Age: New evidence from the Alpine Iceman's copper axe |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318218710 |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=e0179263 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1279263A |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0179263 |pmc=5497943 |pmid=28678801 |access-date=29 December 2023 |doi-access=free}}</ref> It was let into the forked end of the crook and fixed there using [[birch-tar]] and tight leather [[Lashing (ropework)|lashing]]. The blade part of the head extends out of the lashing and shows clear signs of having been used to chop and cut. At the time, such an axe would have been a valuable possession, important both as a tool and as a [[status symbol]] for the bearer.<ref name="Axe" />