Arrows

Since Ötzi had a bow, he must also have owned some arrows. In fact 14 arrows were found, although only two were pointed and ready to shoot. The others were unfinished. But how did he make them?

He found some very straight branches and stuck flint arrowheads on the ends. Flint is a very smooth, sharp-edged stone that was used during the Stone Age to make weapons and tools. Then he fixed bird feathers on the other ends to stabilize the arrows in flight and make them fly straight.

The flint arrowheads and the feathers were fixed with a kind of prehistoric glue: tar, a sticky substance obtained from charred birch bark.