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A 5,300-year-old murder mystery - Albert Zink

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In September 1991, two hikers discovered a corpse emerging from the ice. Researchers soon realized they were looking at the mummified body of a man who’d lived about 5,300 years ago, and theorized he got caught in bad weather and froze. However, a shocking discovery revealed his true cause of death and upended his story. So, how did he die? Albert Zink uncovers the truth about Özti the Iceman.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Albert Zink
  • Director Andrew Foerster, Rewfoe
  • Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Composer Devin Polaski
  • Sound Designer Devin Polaski
  • Produced by Gerta Xhelo, Abdallah Ewis
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Cella Wright
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Do you want to learn more about Ötzi, the Iceman and see with your own eyes the mummy and his clothes and equipment? To do so, it is worth visiting the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy, which also has a lot of information on its website. You can get an impression of how people lived in Ötzi's time by visiting the Archeoparc, which is located not far from the Iceman’s discovery site in the Alps. From there you can also go on a hike up to the site at an altitude of 3210m.

A helpful summary of what the last 30 years of Ötzi research has revealed can be found on the National Geographic website. Besides Ötzi, there are many different mummies, such as Egyptian and South American mummies. In this interview you will learn more about mummies and what we can learn from them. To learn even more about mummies, books like this one, which gives an accessible overview, or this essential textbook by Arthur Aufderheide (1922-2013), are good choices. Read here for more about Aufderheide’s work on the mummies from Sicily and his legacy in the field of paleopathology. 

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Albert Zink
  • Director Andrew Foerster, Rewfoe
  • Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Composer Devin Polaski
  • Sound Designer Devin Polaski
  • Produced by Gerta Xhelo, Abdallah Ewis
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Cella Wright

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