NOVA: Iceman Reborn

Encore Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV (no longer in the PBS App)

He was stalked, attacked and left to die alone. Murdered more than 5,000 years ago, Otzi the Iceman is Europe’s oldest known natural mummy. Miraculously preserved in glacial ice, his remarkably intact remains continue to provide scientists, historians, and archeologists with groundbreaking discoveries about a crucial time in human history. But in order to protect him from contamination, this extraordinary body has been locked away, out of reach, in a frozen crypt – until now.

In "Iceman Reborn," NOVA joins renowned artist and paleo-sculptor Gary Staab as he has been granted rare access into the Iceman’s frozen lair. Gary has been charged with creating an exact replica of the mummy, which scientists and the public alike can then study up close and in person. As we see the Iceman reborn from 3D printing, resin, clay and paint, new revelations about Otzi’s life and legacy come to light, including surprising secrets hidden in his genetic code.

Related Features:

10 Ways to Make a Mummy - How do corpses become mummies? See how natural forces and artificial techniques preserve bodies through the ages.

The Iceman's Last Meal - Find out what the Iceman ate before he died, some 5,000 years ago.

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Artist Gary Staab and Dr. Albert Zink inspect a replica of Otzi the Iceman mummy for this NOVA special.

Courtesy of Bonnie Brennan / WGBH

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Gary Staab and studio assistants Jeff Compton and Meg Schwend, begin paint process and add dark stain to resin print of Otzi.

Courtesy of Bonnie Brennan / WGBH

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Gary Staab in the freezer with Otzi, taking reference photos.

Courtesy of Robert Visty / WGBH

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The refrigerated Iceman mummy is sprayed with water, encasing the corpse in a cocoon of ice simulating the glacial conditions that have preserved him for 5300 years.

Courtesy of South Tyrol Museum of Archeology

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Largest 3D printing machine in the world makes full one piece body in resin of Otzi the Iceman.

Courtesy of Robert Visty / WGBH

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Artist Gary Staab begins the process of replicating Otzi the Iceman mummy.

Courtesy of Bonnie Brennan / WGBH

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The face of the 5300-year-old Iceman mummy.

Courtesy of South Tyrol Museum of Archeology

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