Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past

Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past is a scientific non-fiction book that is centered around what we can learn from melting alpine glaciers. This book includes archeological discoveries made from glaciers and educates readers about how when glaciers melt, it uncovers not only the hidden rocky terrain underneath but also the bodies of people who had died in the them. This book begins by informing readers of the oldest body ever discovered in the melting ice of an Austrian glacier - known as "Ötzi" the Ice Man, this mummified corpse was not evidence of a recent death, but actually of a person who had lived 5,300 years ago! Scientific studies on this body led to uncovering more surprising data about humans living in this time period, such as the first instance of using acupuncture and the first two-part shoes. Ötzi still remains to be one of the most important archeological discoveries of all time. Bodies from the Ice includes over 65 rare photographs of the mummified remains of the people who had died within the glaciers, of maps, tools, landscapes and scientists. It includes fascinating information about similar discoveries all around the world that help scientists uncover clues about the Earth's past.

This book truly has it all! It is a vast vessel of knowledge and information regarding scientific discoveries, important male and female contributors to these discoveries, lore about glaciers, and more facts about these giant and interesting bergs of ice. As a lover of all things science, I adored this book. It is packed full of photos and information that could lead to endless discussions and activities regarding many topics such as what we can learn from science, what science learns from it's discoveries, and how the contributions to these scientific explorations teaches us about our planet's history. It has tons of scientific vocabulary and great geographical information to use in the classroom. It would be exciting to use this book and it's photographs to try and determine how much ice has melted from the glaciers by looking at the pictures and the timelines. This book has so many opportunities to lend itself to Project Based Learning as well!

Deem, J. (2008). Bodies from the ice: Melting glaciers and the recovery of the past. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.