In 1991 occurred the chance discovery of an "ice man" in the Otztaler Alps on the Austrian-Italian border. This almost perfectly preserved corpse of a neolithic hunter who died some 5000 years ago is the prelude to an enthralling detective story. How and why did he die? What do his belongings - clothes, rucksack, axe, dagger, bow, quiver, needle - tell us about the daily existence of the late-Stone-Age inhabitants of Europe? Then there is the body itself - stomach contents, micro-organisms, parasites, hair, teeth, DNA - which form the basis of Dr Konrad Spindler's official account. And since this book is both an exploration into the realms of forensic science and intended for the general reader, the "ice man" is set in the context of other human mummy finds from Greenland, the Andes and Scythia.