WHAT ARE THE OLDEST TATTOOS IN THE WORLD?
Since his discovery on 19 December 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi (artist's impression) has provided window into early human history.
Since his discovery on 19 December 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi has provided a window into early human history.
His mummified remains were uncovered in melting glacier in the mountainous border between Austria and Italy.
Analysis of the body has told us that he was alive during the Copper Age and died a grisly death.
Ötzi, who was 46 at the time of his death, had brown eyes, relatives in Sardinia, and was lactose intolerant.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi's body using different wavelengths of light to pick them out on the mummy's darkened skin.
And in December 2015 they were confirmed to be the world's oldest - beating markings on an unidentified South American Chinchorro mummy.
Experts had thought the South American mummy with a moustache-like tattoo on its face died in around 4,000BC, before realising it's younger than Ötzi, who was killed in around 3250 BC.
While researchers can't be sure why Ötzi had the tattoos, many think that they served as a form of acupuncture.
'We know that they were real tattoos,' Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy told LiveScience.
The ancient tattoo artist who applied them 'made the incisions into the skin, and then they put in charcoal mixed with some herbs.'
The tattoos, mostly found on Ötzi's lower back and legs, between the knee and food, may have been a way to relieve the effects of chronic pain or injuries.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi's body using different wavelengths of light to pick them out on the mummy's darkened skin and in December 2015 they were confirmed to be the world's oldest
Ötzi was thought to have done a lot of walking in the Alps, which could have resulted in joint pain in his knees and ankles.
The 61st tattoo, found on the ribcage, has puzzled researchers who suggest Ötzi may also suffered from chest pain.
If the tattoos were not for therapeutic benefit, the researchers say they could have had symbolic or religious significance.
Alternatively, they may simply be geometric shapes with no hidden meaning.
In March, 2018, figurative tattoos were been discovered on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies at the British Museum.
Experts said that these were the world's earliest figurative tattoos.
The tattoos are of a wild bull and a Barbary sheep on the upper-arm of a male mummy, and S-shaped motifs on the upper-arm and shoulder of a female.
The find dates tattoos containing imagery rather than geometric patterns to 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Researchers said the discovery 'transforms' our understanding of how people lived during this period.
Read articles that feature this panel
History of tattooing is rewritten after world's earliest figurative inkings are found on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies in the British...
Tattoos of a wild bull, a symbol of power and virility, and a Barbary sheep, were found on Egyptian mummies dating to between 3341 and 3017...
Ötzi's last meal revealed: Scientists say the iceman ate a 'horrible-tasting' high-fat meal of goat and red deer supper before he died 5,300...
Ötzi the iceman, who lived in northern Italy 5,300 years ago, died with a stomach full of red deer and ibex meet, as scientists discovered...
Can't get a job? Get a tattoo! Body art is now so fashionable, it makes you MORE likely to get a job
Job seekers have a better chance of being hired if the interviewer spots ink on their skin, according to new research from the University of...
Tattooed remains of a mummified woman belonged to a magical priestess who lived 3,000 years ago, claim Egyptian archaeologists
The body, which was found four years ago in Deir el Medina near Egypt's Valley of the Kings, is covered around 30 ancient tattoos.
Royal Navy says new recruits can now have neck tattoos (as long as they are not racist, sexist or drug-related)
The Royal Navy has strict recruitment rules which ban tattoos that are visible on the throat and face - but now sailors will be allowed to...
Is this evidence of the 'world's first' tattoo parlour? 2,000 year-old pen-sized tool made from CACTUS spines to pigment skin is found...
The tattooing tool stems from the ancestral Pueblo people living in modern-day Utah and little is known about the communities and culture.
'World’s oldest' complete tattooing kit dating back 2,700 years found in Tonga contains tools made from HUMAN bones
The World’s 'oldest' complete tattooing kit dating back 2,700 years has been found on Tonga’s main island Tongatapu and contains two tools...
Ink-redible discovery! Scientists find a TATTOO with references to Jesus Christ on a 1,300-year-old body in Sudan
The tattoo's owner was buried at the Ghazali monastery, located 9.3 miles from the banks of the Nile in Northern Sudan, and was most likely...
Prehistoric piercings! Archaeologists discover evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years
Archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years.
Ink-redible! Scientists use lasers to reveal highly detailed tattoos on 1,200-year-old mummies from Peru
The team inspected more than 100 mummified individuals from the Chancay culture - a civilisation that began mass producing ceramics,...
Unravelling the mystery of the Mummy of the 'Air-Dried Chaplain': Vicar who died in 1746 was exceptionally well preserved thanks to unusual...
The long-dead vicar, who passed away in 1746, has an unusual embalming method to thank for his extraordinary durability. But it's not one...
Revealed: What your TATTOOS say about you, according to science
In a new study, researchers from Michigan State University have revealed how people make judgements based on someone's tattoos.
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