Making the Dead Speak: Scientists Plan to Recreate the Voice of Otzi the Iceman

Italian scientists are attempting to give Ötzi the Iceman a voice. By using CT scans of his throat and the tissue around his voice box, the researchers believe there is a chance to recreate the sounds of his voice with sophisticated software.

The Independent reports that the researchers plan to recreate the “timbre and color” of Ötzi’s voice. With that information “specialists in Bolzano and Padua plan to get the world’s oldest mummy to “speak” stone-age vowels.”

Rolando Füstös, an ENT consultant at San Maurizio Hospital, who is leading the new project, told the Independent that there are particular difficulties the team has to face by working with the 5,300-year-old, body conserved in a sterile, glass box at 7˚C (44.6 ˚F) and 100% humidity:

“For a start, we can’t use MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans because of the condition of the mummified body. The other problem is the position he’s in, with his arm across his throat, which makes the CT scanning more difficult. But providing there are no more unforeseen difficulties, I’m fairly confident we will be able to synthesize the sound of his voice within the next few months.”