In 1991 hikers who were climbing the mountains between Austria and Italy discovered the remains of a man in the melting snow that had been preserved in a glacier for 5,000 years.
An examination last year showed that an arrowhead was embedded in his left shoulder, an injury that clearly could not have been self-inflicted. Now, based on new evidence, Johan Reinhard, an explore-in-residence with the National Geographic Society, has proposed that the ?Iceman? was killed as a sacrifice to the gods. He says the arrowhead wound, which was overlooked in previous examinations, makes it clear that the Iceman was shot in the back. ?It might have been murder,? says Reinhard, ?or it might have been ritual sacrifice.?
?I know it?s controversial,? says Johan Reinhard, ?But it?s time to reexamine the evidence from a different perspective. Let?s look at these artifacts not only relative to each other but also within social, sacred, and geographic contexts.?
Reinhard is an expert on cultures of the Andes, the Himalaya, and other regions and an authority on mummies and ritual sacrifices. Among the many mummies he has discovered is the Inca ?Ice Maiden,? which was found on the frozen summit of Peru?s Mount Ampato in 1995 and determined to be a victim of sacrifice.
The Iceman?s remains were found in a naturally formed trench on a prominent pass between two of the highest peaks in the
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