Dating to between 3351 to 3017 BC, tattoos of animals and motifs have been discovered on two naturally mummified bodies from Egypt. Using infrared technology, figural tattoos of a wild bull and a sheep were identified on the upper arm of a male mummy, while linear and S-shaped motifs have been identified on the upper arm and shoulder of a female mummy; these are the oldest tattoos ever found on a female individual.
Under regular light, the details are less prominent. When first found in 1900, the tattoo was mistaken for a smudge [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum] |
These naturally mummified individuals are from Egypt’s Predynastic period, the era preceding the country’s unification by the first pharaoh at around 3100 BC. All visible skin on these mummified individuals was examined for signs of body modification as part of a new programme of conservation and research.
This infrared image shows the male mummy known as Gebelein Man. On his arm, you can see his tattoos [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum] |
Under infrared light, the details of the tattoo on his 5,000-year-old skin become visible [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum] |
Dark smudges on his arm, appearing as faint markings under natural light, had remained unexamined. Infrared photography recently revealed that these smudges were in fact tattoos of two slightly overlapping horned animals. The horned animals have been tentatively identified as a wild bull (long tail, elaborate horns) and a Barbary sheep (curving horns, humped shoulder). Both animals are well known in Predynastic Egyptian art. The designs are not superficial and have been applied to the dermis layer of the skin, the pigment was carbon-based, possibly some kind of soot.
The female Gebelein woman was also examined under infrared light [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum] |
It may represent a crooked stave, a symbol of power and status, or a throw-stick or baton/clappers used in ritual dance. The ‘S’ motif also appears on Predynastic pottery decoration, always in multiples.
Her shoulder bone bears four "S"-shaped lines. The pattern has been found on other pieces of art from this time period [Credit: Trustees of the British Museum] |
These finds demonstrate conclusively that tattooing was practised during Egypt’s Predynastic period (c. 4000–3100 BC) by both men and women. As the oldest known tattooed figural motifs, they add to our understanding of the range of potential uses of tattoos at the dawn of ancient Egyptian civilisation and expand our view of the practice of tattooing in prehistoric times.
The full findings have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Source: British Museum [March 02, 2018]