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Origin and seasonality of subfossil caprine dung from the discovery site of the Iceman (Eastern Alps)

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Abstract

The discovery of a Neolithic glacier mummy (dated to 3300–3100 cal b.c.) on a remote site of an Alpine pass at 3,200 m in the Ötztal Mountains is still puzzling. In the initial phase of the Iceman research, four hypotheses were suggested to explain the find in its entirety. The speculations vary from a hunter or warrior to a shaman, a miner or a shepherd. None of these proposals is accepted or corroborated by archaeological findings, but on the basis of palynological investigations conducted in the vicinity of the discovery site the assumption that the Iceman was involved in an early form of transhumance has now gained general acceptance. Concerning this assumption we present in this paper a recent study conducted on about a hundred caprine (sheep/goat or ibex/chamois) dung pellets recovered from the find spot of the Iceman and which were dated from 5400 to 2000 cal b.c. The approach was to determine through plant remains from these faeces whether they were droppings derived from animals grazing in anthropogenic habitats at low altitudes or in alpine grasslands. The former case would suggest they were livestock, the latter game. The results showed that all droppings derive from animals grazing at high altitudes.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support was provided by the Austrian Science Foundation (P14879).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Botanik, Sternwartestrasse 15, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Klaus Oeggl & Werner Kofler

  2. Palaeoecology Research Services Ltd, Unit 8, Dabble Duck Industrial Estate, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2RA, UK

    Alexandra Schmidl

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  1. Klaus Oeggl
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  2. Alexandra Schmidl
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  3. Werner Kofler
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Correspondence to Klaus Oeggl.

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Oeggl, K., Schmidl, A. & Kofler, W. Origin and seasonality of subfossil caprine dung from the discovery site of the Iceman (Eastern Alps). Veget Hist Archaeobot 18, 37–46 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-008-0188-0

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