Name______Period______
THE ICEMAN – Day 1
On an autumn day in 1991, hikers in the Alps mountain range, along the border of Italy and Austria, found a body frozen in an icy crevasse (crack in a glacier). Investigators determined that the man had died at 45 yrs. of age, had numerous tattoos, and was relatively well dressed for this difficult environment. Was he a lost mountaineer who froze to death? A murder victim? Something else?
Carbon dating shows that this man lived over 5,000 years ago. He is one of the oldest and best-preserved natural mummies ever found. He was so well protected by the cold that researchers can determine how he lived, where he came from, what ailed him, what he ate for his last meal, and how he died. This “iceman,” who researchers named Otzi, lived and died before recorded human history. But his story will help us to know more about our ancestors who lived during the Stone Age.
Your Task:
Work with a fellow researcher to study the artifacts and fossils of the Iceman through the website of the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology (in Italy) where the Iceman is currently on display. Use the information and the images of the iceman and his possessions to make inferences about his life, his death, and any other information you can gather. On a sheet of lined paper, make a chart with two columns. Record any important details on the evidence in column one. In column two, list possible inferences one could make about his life based on that particular evidence. You must take notes in the following areas of the site, but you are also welcome to look at others.
Website: http://www.iceman.it/en/the-iceman/
· Otzi
o The Mummy
o State of Health
o Tattoos
o Otzi’s Death
· The Clothing
· The Equipment
Iceman Creative Writing – Day 2
In the “Iceman Exercise” you were presented with concrete evidence and asked to draw inferences about the life of the Iceman. Now you will have an opportunity to take these facts and inferences and use your imagination to create a fictionalized version of the Iceman’s experience. You have a choice as to whether you would like to create haiku poems or a short narrative to explain how you think Otzi lived and died.
Option 1 : the haiku
The haiku is a short, unrhymed poetic form that originated in Japan. To create a haiku, write three lines that total 17 syllables (5, 7, 5). The first two lines usually present a single image with the third adding a twist or interesting slant. Use verbs in the present tense. Since haiku is such a compact poetic form, choose every word very carefully.
Directions: Write at least three haiku about the life and/or world of the Iceman. Write the final versions of your haiku with illustrations on a separate sheet of paper. **If you would rather write a free-form poem or song parody (at least 12 lines) to describe his life and death, you may also do that. Illustrations also required.
Boring Haiku: Ötzi, the hunter,
Died while climbing a mountain
Though we don’t know why
Descriptive Haiku: Through frozen lashes
He views one final sunset
A blazing farewell
Option 2: The Narrative
The word “narrative” comes from the Latin verb “narrare,” meaning “to tell.” Taking your evidence, inferences, and images into consideration, write one paragraph minimum narrating the Iceman’s life and death. Be sure to use vivid sensory images to help you to show rather than merely tell the Iceman’s story. You may write from either the third person (describing the Iceman’s actions) or first person (speaking as the Iceman) point of view. When finished, write or type a neat (or even ancient) looking draft of the narrative and draw an illustration to help readers visualize your narrative.
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