Posted on 10/02/2025 8:37:14 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
This Artifact Was Unknown Before Ötzi the Iceman | 2:55
Dr. Smiti Nathan | 22.6K subscribers | 83,388 views | September 25, 2025
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--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <-- · Introduction 0:00 · What happens when you find something you've never seen before? 0:04 · In 1991, hikers walking along the Tyrolean Alps stumbled across a mummified body. 0:10 · This body would later become known as, Ötzi the Iceman, one of the 0:14 · world's most famous mummies who lived and died 5,300 years ago. 0:19 · Next to Ötzi, they found his belongings. 0:22 · But this object piqued the curiosity of archaeologists because they had never 0:27 · seen this kind of artifact before. 0:29 · Hi, I'm Dr. Smiti Nathan, and I'm an archaeologist. 0:32 · In this video, we're going to explore this artifact and how 0:36 · researchers pieced together not only what it was, but how it was used. · Description 0:45 · When this object was initially found, researchers could tell it was a 0:49 · 12 centimeter long sharpened tool. 0:52 · When they did further analysis, they learned that this object was made 0:55 · from a piece of stripped European lime tretoucheur branch that had 0:58 · been sharpened at one end, similar to how a pencil would be sharpened. 1:02 · A fragment of black antler was then hammered into the core 1:06 · of the branch and is visible poking out of the sharpened end. 1:09 · Now, it's important to note that the black color of the antler. 1:12 · Likely occurred after the object was originally used. 1:16 · And this is likely due to chemical reactions that happen after the 1:20 · object was deposited into the ground. · Use 1:23 · Since this type of artifact was unknown before the discovery of Ötzi, the 1:27 · objects use initially puzzled researchers. 1:30 · Researchers did a series of experiments and scientific analyses to figure 1:35 · out what this was based on their research, they think this object 1:39 · was used to sharpen flint blades. 1:42 · They called it a retoucheur, which comes from its use in shaping 1:46 · and retouching flint tools. 1:48 · The retoucheur has helped archaeologists to learn more about the tools 1:51 · and methods used to make them. 1:53 · During Ötzi's time when making a stone tool, Flint material would first be 1:58 · roughly hammered into the desired shape. 2:01 · In this case, it was likely a blade. 2:03 · The retoucheur was then used to make the form more precise and sharp. 2:08 · When tools became blunt, the retoucheur was used to sharpen them. 2:12 · And when the retoucheur itself became blunt, the anther point was sharpened 2:17 · like a pencil, ready to be used again. · Outro 2:19 · Ötzi's mummified body and his belongings are located in the 2:23 · South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. 2:25 · In addition to stone tools, Ötzi's clothing and undigested food 2:30 · remains in his intestines, help us reconstruct his life and death. 2:34 · You can learn more about this in our videos on lost socks and 2:38 · ancient diseases, both in which feature Ötzi, and are linked below. 2:42 · This video is part of our Artifact of the Day series where we take a quick look 2:45 · at one intriguing object from the past. 2:48 · If you're interested in watching another Artifact of the Day 2:51 · video, check out the video here.
For you who pretend not to have less than three minutes to spare to watch or just listen to the video, and like to complain about the YT generated transcript, here’s the author’s website transcript link:
https://smitinathan.com/this-artifact-was-unknown-before-otzi-the-iceman/
The rest of the four keywords (iceman, oetzi, otzi, theiceman), duplicates out, detritus out, sorted:
She’s wrong..............
I read something about they ran his DNA and he had decedents living down in the city near where he was found.
Interesting
She’s wrong about what?
Thanks for your work on these things, and to heck with the complainers.
That it was used to flake flint for arrowheads and knives...............
My first guess would have been a pressure flaker used in flintknapping.
I think she was right, although I’ve never seen a tool like that before. It looks perfectly designed for delicate pressure flaking. On the edges. As in sharpening.
Hell, every flint knapper since the first one had something similar or exactly like that🤷🏼♂️
Is deer antler harder than flint? I don’t think so.
It’s an ‘awl’ for make holes in animal skins to sew them together and the notched end is for using a bow & string for drilling purposes..............
Deer antlers are great for pressure flaking flint tools.
So is a piece of seasoned hickory.
But a needle-sized piece?.............
Both bone and antler can be sharpened to tiny points.
Sewing needles with eyes have been found.
Pretty interesting.
Revealed a lot about flintmaking. Otzi was one of the skilled flintmakers.
I have a huge piece of flint, about the size of a liter bottle, I found here several years ago in the shallow waters of the bay. It did not come from here, so it had to have been brought here by someone, probably an Indian trader centuries ago.
I cannot imaging trying to use this tool to flake it into an ax or knife................
Clearly a headspace gauge.
If your piece is of the right shape, you can strike off flakes.
If it is made of good fine-grained flint or chalcedony, you can make scalpels.
I think obsidian makes the sharpest edges, but it’s glass, not flint.
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