What happens when you find an artifact you have never seen before? In this post, you will find the YouTube video exploring an artifact found amongst Ötzi’s belongings, and a full video transcript (with relevant sources and links).

YouTube Video

YouTube Video Transcript

Here, you will find the complete transcript of the video in the previous section with hyperlinked references/citations.

Intro

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 5300 years ago. Next to Otzi, 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. Smiti 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. 

About the Artifact

When this object was initially found, researchers could tell it was a 12 cm-long sharpened tool. When they did further analysis, they learned that this object was made from a piece of stripped European lime tree (Tilia europaea) 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. The black color of the antler most likely occurred after the original use of this object as a result of post-depositional chemical reactions. 

What it Was

Since this type of artifact was unknown before the discovery of Ötzi, this 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 retoucheur, which comes from its use in shaping and retouching flint tools.

The retoucheur has helped archaeologists to learn more about the tools and the methods used to make them during Otzi’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 retoucheur was then used to make the form more precise and sharp. When tools became blunt, the retoucheur was used to re-sharpen them. And when the retoucheur itself became blunt, the antler point was sharpened like a pencil, ready to be used again.

Outro

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 Lost Socks and Ancient Diseases videos that feature Ötzi. Those will be linked below.

This video is part of our Artifact of the Day series, where we take a quick look at one (or in this case two) intriguing object from the past. If you’re interested in watching another artifact of the day video, check out the video here.

Credits

Brooke Norton: Series Lead, Co-Producer, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Noor Hanania: Lead Video Editor, Peer Reviewer, Logo Designer

Anya Gruber: Peer Reviewer

Sneh P. Patel: Peer Reviewer

Smiti Nathan: Director, Co-Producer, Support Video Editor, Researcher, Scriptwriter

Patreon Supporters

Thank you to our paid Patreon members for supporting the creation of this video:

Nancy Fulton, James D., Giancarlo Annese, Thomas Martin, Stuart A. Griffin, Tagg, Ann Brookens, Diana Madden, Cole Guinn

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