Age of Alpine ‘Iceman’ Put at 5,300 Years
- Share via
VIENNA — The well-preserved corpse of a late Stone Age man found in an Alpine glacier last year is about 5,300 years old, scientists said Friday.
Carbon-dating tests on bones and tissue taken from the body, dubbed the ‘Iceman’ after its discovery, were done by experts in Zurich and at Oxford University.
They showed with 95% certainty that the man, found with primitive weapons and clothing, died between 3,350 and 3,300 BC, Austrian radio reported.
The findings were delivered to Innsbruck University on Friday. Previous tests fixing the age of the mummified corpse at over 5,000 years relied on results from samples of grasses taken from the body’s clothing.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
