Whether they serve to indicate social status, cultural identity or simply a stage of life, tattoos have long played an essential role in our societies. And it is not the scientists who will say the opposite.
“Exceptional tattoos”
According to a study published Monday January 13, 2025 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy os Sciences (PNAS) and relayed by Associated Press extremely precise techniques would have in fact emerged several centuries ago. The researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing some 100 mummies from the Chancay culture, a civilization that flourished on the coast of Peru before the rise of the Incas.
Read also: NARRATIVE. Thousands of Egyptian cat mummies ended up as fertilizer in the UK
These mummies, approximately 880 years old, presented “exceptional tattoos” on the hands or forearms, as Michael Pittman, study co-author and archaeologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said. Aaron Deter-Wolf, an expert on pre-Columbian tattoos, even claimed that they were of a quality equivalent to that of “very good tattoos today”.
Geometric shapes
During their analyses, the scientists used lasers to lightly shine the skin of the mummies and thus reveal details invisible to the naked eye. They then discovered patterns presenting geometric shapes, such as diamonds or triangles, with breathtaking fineness of line.
“When ancient tattoos are accessible to us, they provide exciting insight into forms of figurative and abstract art that we cannot otherwise access”reacted Martin Smith, archaeologist from Bournemouth University (United Kingdom). As a reminder, the oldest known example of a tattoo was found on a man living in the Italian Alps, around 3,000 years BC.
Health
