Scientists used laser-induced luminescence to analyze tattoos on 1,200-year-old mummies of the Chancay culture, which existed in what is now Peru. This method allowed them to discern many fine details of the original images and discovered that some complex geometric and zoomorphic patterns were inscribed on the bodies of the Americans using a very thin, pointed instrument, producing lines just 0.1–0.2 millimeters thick. A paper describing the study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The history of tattooing dates back to ancient times, but it's unclear exactly when people around the world first began using them. The earliest written references to tattoos in Greece date back to at least the 5th century BC (and evidence from China may be even older). However, archaeological evidence suggests that people began applying permanent pigmented designs to their bodies much earlier. It's quite possible that this practice originated at least as early as the Upper Paleolithic, as suggested, for example, by potential tattoo tools.
However, the best evidence that representatives of various ancient cultures applied tattoos are mummies, on whose skin images have been preserved. Today, we can confidently say that more than five thousand years ago, people were already creating permanent drawings on their bodies by injuring the skin and introducing pigment into the dermis. The most famous confirmation of this is the ice mummy Oetzi, on whose body 61 tattoos have been preserved (read more about this man in the article “From the Abyss in the Ice”). In addition, tattoos comparable in age were found several years ago on two mummies of the predynastic period from Egypt, and, unlike Oetzi, these people have figurative images on their bodies.
Thomas Kaye of the Arizona-based Foundation for Science Advancement, along with colleagues from the UK, China, Peru, and Poland, focused on tattoos preserved on much younger mummies of the Chancay culture, which emerged on the central coast of Peru around 800–900 CE and disappeared around 1475–1533. In their study, they analyzed remains discovered in 1981 during salvage excavations near the Peruvian city of Huacho.
Researchers have used laser-induced fluorescence (laser-induced glow) for the first time to reconstruct the original designs on the bodies of 1,200-year-old Chancay mummies that have blurred and faded over time. The technique can sometimes reveal fine details of an original tattoo, scientists say, because it can detect differences in glow between the original design and where pigment has migrated over time.
In total, they analyzed more than a hundred tattoo samples, which in many cases helped to better understand the features of the drawings. However, the most interesting observations are that on some mummified bodies, scientists were able to record very small details. They are lines with a thickness of 0.1-0.2 millimeters, which is less than when using a modern standard tattoo needle No. 12 (0.35 millimeters).
Such very fine lines were present on a small number of bodies - it is quite possible that only a certain circle of people could afford such complex tattoos. With the help of extremely small details, ancient masters created intricate geometric and zoomorphic patterns that required a high level of professionalism from tattoo artists. Scientists have suggested that the inhabitants of the central coast of Peru used either cactus spines or sharpened animal bones as tools for applying such drawings. According to the authors of the new article, the extremely small details and patterns, as in some tattoos, represent the most complex form of art identified in the Chancay culture.
N+1 previously reported on how a New Zealander used various tools and techniques to create Ötzi tattoos on his body. Subsequent research into these images has revealed that the ancient European's tattoos were likely created using the handpoke technique.
