The Controversy Around His Murder

The determination that Ötzi was murdered — shot in the back with an arrow — has been one of the most gripping aspects of his story since the arrow tip was discovered in 2001.

But the murder finding has also been the subject of various controversies and competing interpretations that are worth examining.

The basic finding is not contested: the arrow tip is in the left shoulder, the wound would have been rapidly fatal, and the injury could not have been self-inflicted. Ötzi was shot from behind, from below, by someone who was not in front of him.

These are the established facts.