The five-centimeter movement of his hand is extraordinary. Intellectually, of course I understand that this is still a human body with joints and tissues rather than a fixed archaeological object, but I don't think I'd ever really considered that Ötzi can still change position.
And then having to digitally disarticulate and reposition a 5,000-year-old man's skeleton because he no longer matched his own CT scan is exactly the sort of problem I love reading about. Nobody doing that scan in 2021 was thinking, "We'd better account for Ötzi moving later."
The idea of the model as an "ethical proxy" may be my favorite part, though. Better documentation actually resulting in less handling of the original seems like exactly what conservation technology ought to accomplish.
I like the idea of "ethical proxy". It would be a fine thing if this were to be de rigeur in all future handling of uncovered human remains. Each "find'" is, after all, someone's forebear.
A remarkable reminder that even a 5,000‑year‑old body refuses to stay still. The ingenuity required just to document him shows how fragile and alive the past still is.
The five-centimeter movement of his hand is extraordinary. Intellectually, of course I understand that this is still a human body with joints and tissues rather than a fixed archaeological object, but I don't think I'd ever really considered that Ötzi can still change position.
And then having to digitally disarticulate and reposition a 5,000-year-old man's skeleton because he no longer matched his own CT scan is exactly the sort of problem I love reading about. Nobody doing that scan in 2021 was thinking, "We'd better account for Ötzi moving later."
The idea of the model as an "ethical proxy" may be my favorite part, though. Better documentation actually resulting in less handling of the original seems like exactly what conservation technology ought to accomplish.
I like the idea of "ethical proxy". It would be a fine thing if this were to be de rigeur in all future handling of uncovered human remains. Each "find'" is, after all, someone's forebear.
A remarkable reminder that even a 5,000‑year‑old body refuses to stay still. The ingenuity required just to document him shows how fragile and alive the past still is.
This was a fascinating read! The patience, determination & dedication of the archeologists at work is amazing.