The belt of Ötzi the Iceman... is this how it worked? A potentially useful design!

[oneshot]

Regarding clothing it is often useful to look back into history to see what people were wearing thousands of years ago. The discovery of Ötzi the Iceman gives us a window into the clothing of the past. Being a bushcrafter I decided to do some thinking about the Iceman's belt and I think I have figured how it worked. If I am right it is an incredibly elegant design that could be used today.

Please see my brief video for an introduction to the hypothesis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx0jEIbVd_o

I have also written a short paper which can be found here:

http://outinthewoodsofcanada.wordpress.com

I welcome your comments, and thanks for reading.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Oneshot - welcome to BCUK, especially as one who studies Otzi as an inspiration for historic travel.

My thoughts on the positioning of the belt differ a little from yours. In your video demonstration, the game would bounce around and be a hindrance to silent/camouflaged movement. I think the belt would be worn with the pouch directly to the front with the game carriers to the side. The pouch would, I believe, have contained his fire making items - as a person would be acutely sensitive to any damp in that area of the body, yet warmed by its proximity to the torso and hence kept reasonably dry.

The belt itself was more than long enough to pass twice around his body - therefore I think the belt would have been positioned on his body, doubled around his back and tied at the front - further covering the items in the pouch and indicating their importance.

Off now to read your paper......

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[oneshot]

Thanks for the comments and the welcome Ogri... I never thought about the position of the pouch being a good one for keeping his firemaking kit warm and dry.

What exact position on the waist were you thinking the game would have been hung?

 

[Ogri the trog]

I would have thought that any game would have hung right on his hip-bone.
If it were significantly to the front or back, it would introduce an element of movement (bouncing or rolling as the legs move beneath it) while he was walking and betray his presence beyond the movement of his own body. You see some people carrying keys hooked on modern trouser belt loops - if they use the front loops, you'll notice both movement and noise of the keys as they walk - however, like carrying a belt knife, if you position it over the hip, it remains largely motionless (that is it moves with your body) as you walk and allows the wearer to move (up to running pace) and to sit without having to fidget with it, yet it remains accessible.

I realise that in just journeying from place to place, stealth would not necessarily be important - so his extra pouches and belongings would be attached with the disks tucked under the belt itself. If he were to chance upon a hunting opportunity, he could quietly crouch beside a convenient tree and remove the items that he did not need for the actual hunt - lightening his load and focussing his mind to the task at hand. Once the hunt was over, he could return to his cache and retrieve his other equipment. It mimicks the way I was taught in the British forces in the 80's & 90's - you carry everything on your webbing, but if you were to encounter an enemy, you remove the "large pack" (British '58 patterm webbing) and take only the kit necessary to engage - but still enough for 24 hours away from the rest of your kit.

Interesting conversation.

Ogri the trog

 

[BOD]

Ogri,

I'm with you all the way till you say "large pack" (British '58 patterm webbing) and take only the kit necessary to engage" then I'm confused.

Do you mean just cache the bergen and continue with webbing as for setting up an ambush etc. or are you talking about removing some kind of pack from the webbing itself (like the Vietnam-era "butt" pack) and proceeding with a lighter or no webbing load?

I never wore British webbing so I'm not sure what you are talking about

 

[Ogri the trog]

BOD,
It was the days before "Bergans" were popular. The '58 set-up was a belt and yoke with pouches as many other military web systems, the "Large Pack" was a rectangular pack of about 30 litres capacity with two woefully small side pockets and straps to hold a sleeping bag, a tin hat and either a pick-axe or shovel. It was attached by clips onto "D" rings high on the shoulder straps of the webbing rig. It meant that you could attach/detach the Large Pack without disturbing the rest of the system. A google image search will return many photos of the pouches/yoke/belt system...... hang on.....

http://www.armyport.com/UploadFiles/201010211624744693.jpg

.... on the front view, you can just see the "D" rings high on the shoulder that hold the Large Pack onto the yoke, and from the back view, just make out that it is a separate item from the kidney pouches (just below elbows and poncho roll [butt-pack] below that). So you ditch your spare grundies, change of clothing etc. and move into contact carrying just your ammunition, 24 hour rations and hexy stove, water bottle and respirator haversack (not gas mask bag!) and Poncho roll containing your poncho and a pick axe or shovel.

Sorry to take the thread off topic Oneshot.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Miyagi]

I hated the large pack - it was anything but.

Interesting topic guys, thanks.

Liam

 

[oneshot]

I think we agree on the position of the the belt Ogri... here is a short quote from the paper I wrote at http://outinthewoodsofcanada.wordpress.com

"The position of the belt loops is directly over the hip which is a great location for carrying game. This point of the body tends to stay stationary when walking and hence the game would not flop around to hinder balance or walking efficiency. It would also expose the game to wind to take advantage of evaporative cooling."

The video shows the game hanging closer to the centre but that was just to illustrate the concept. I probably should have mentioned it in the video! Thanks for pointing it out.

I suppose he could have tucked the toggles under the belt directly as you mentioned but I don't know if the system would have supported it. Ötzi's belt probably held up a great deal of weight, including but not limited to his knife, loincloth, leggings, game, firekit and potentially even his quiver. This could have added up to several kilos. It is my feeling that the tension on the belt would have been so great that tucking toggles the size of walnuts under it would have been difficult. It would also necessitate the loop and toggle system shown in the video. In addition, if the position of the game was as important as we have discussed, simply tucking it under the belt would have allowed for lateral movement allowing it to migrate into the wrong position. The loop and toggle system would have prevented this.

I must say that looking at the equipment of this man really is truly insipirational. In my mind it places emphasis on the fact that the smallest details can make such a difference in bushcraft.

I can tell you that I will be using a version of his belt when I head out into the woods this fall... anyone else care to try?