In 1991, the remains of a man who lived over 5000 years ago was found frozen in the alps.

Studies showed that he had healed rib fractures, degenerative arthritis, vascular calcification, and even an arrow wound in his left shoulder.

He had tattoos on his skin, many of which match acupuncture point locations. His skeleton shows degenerative changes to his spine, and his tattoos mark points which are very often used to treat back pain. There are also points marked which treat abdominal disorders, and studies of his remains suggest that he had a parasitic infection and gallstones.

It is believed that he must have been receiving a form of acupuncture to treat his conditions. The acupuncture points on these mummified remains are more ancient than even the oldest records of Chinese acupuncture.

We aren’t sure how old acupuncture is, or where it originated. Ancient sharpened stones found in China may pre-date the Alps mummy, but we don’t know if they were used for acupuncture. Either way, this finding in the Alps forces us to reconsider some of our assumptions about acupuncture’s ancient past!

Want to explore this topic further? This excellent article in the International Journal of Paleopathology is excellently written and referenced, and can be found at the following link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1879981718300883?via%3Dihub

You can also get more information by searching for ‘Tyrolean Ice Man’ in Google.

 

By Seamus Fitzgerald, 

Réiteach Integrative Health, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.