Sir

One of the ‘great mysteries’ of Ötzi, the Stone Age man whose body was found in an Alpine glacier (Nature 391, 318; 1997 ), was recently solved. A copper axe had been found close to the body, which was (as you indicated) dated as more than 5, 000 years old. Copper tools were not yet known from such an early time in prehistory, so that some scientists believed that the body and the axe were found together only incidentally.

It was proved recently, however, that Ötzi lived not only contemporaneously with the axe, but also that he was probably involved in its manufacture. This was indicated by analysis of hair samples, which showed increased copper and arsenic content, comparable to concentrations found nowadays in the hair of people who work — under relatively primitive conditions — in the copper industry.

The Alpine region where Ötzi was found contains, indeed, some morphological remnants of pits where, apparently, copper ores were mined in prehistoric times. This makes the likelihood of a copper industry during Ötzi's lifetime almost certain. The finding of the ‘Ice Man’ thus sheds new light on the development of a metal industry in prehistoric times.