A German who discovered the body of a 5,000-year-old man frozen in the Italian Alps said Monday he is demanding a finder's fee of up to $300,000.

Helmut Simon discovered the iceman, known as Oetzi, near the Italy-Austria border while on a 1991 hiking trip with his wife. Oetzi's well-preserved body, clothing and tools have given scientists a window on the previously little-known world of copper-age Europe.

A researcher prepares to take samples of the 5,300-year-old body of a Bronze Age hunter known as 'Oetzi' in Bolzano, Italy in this undated photo released by the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. [AP]

Oetzi currently is housed at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.

Simon told The Associated Press he and his Italian lawyer are seeking an out-of-court settlement with the provincial government of Italy's northern Alto Adige region.

Provincial authorities have given no official response to the demand presented to them last month, but talks are continuing, Simon said from his home in Nuremberg.

Calls to Alto Adige authorities and the museum were not immediately returned Monday.

Oetzi has provided researchers with a wealth of information about the late Neolithic Age, or 3300-3100 B.C.

Studies have indicated he was between 25 and 40 when he died, suffered from arthritis and had a flint arrowhead embedded in a shoulder, which probably was the cause of his death.

He was carrying a bow, a quiver of arrows and a copper ax, prompting speculation he was a hunter or warrior.

Researchers initially reported that his last meal included unleavened bread and greens. In September, other scientists who extracted DNA from the contents of his intestines found that he also had consumed venison — strengthening the theory he was a hunter.

Researchers also said Oetzi probably spent his whole life within about 37 miles of the spot where he was found.

To better preserve Oetzi's remains, museum officials this month moved them into an "igloo" made from tiles of ice to keep him colder and more humid. He now lies on a glass tabletop, one arm draped across his chest, surrounded by walls of ice blocks before a small viewing window.

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