Did the Ice Man Use Acupuncture?

Jeremiah 17:14
“Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.”

You may remember the “ice man” discovered in a glacier in the Alps in 1991. His frozen body had been preserved in the ice for thousands of years. Even his hair, beard and skin were largely intact. While there is some debate about when he lived, he is easily dated, in the biblical framework, to within several centuries after the Flood.

Researchers at the University of Graz in Austria have been studying his body in hope of learning more about life in the distant past. They found that the ice man has 15 groups of tattooed lines on his body. They could find no reasonable explanations for the tattooed lines until they compared the tattoos to the traditional acupuncture points. The ice man’s tattoos corresponded to the acupuncture points used to treat stomach upset and backache. X-rays of the ice man’s body showed that though he was only middle-aged, he did indeed have arthritis in his hips, knees, ankles and spine that would produce backache. Further study showed that he had a high level of parasites called whipworms in his intestines! The ice man lived 2,000 years before any known use of acupuncture by the Chinese. Could it be that acupuncture is ancient knowledge that came into use today by way of Noah himself?

Any medical treatment that works is a blessing in this life. However, only the healing provided by the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring true spiritual health now and in eternity.

Prayer:
I praise You, dear Lord, for the healing You have given me. Amen.

Notes:
Discover, 2/00, p. 61, “The Ice Man Healeth.” Photo: Ötzi the Iceman on a sheet-covered autopsy table. © South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. (Fair Use)