Who said that tattoos don’t age well? It has been confirmed the first tattoos ever recorded belong to Ötzi the Tyrolean iceman, a 5,000-year-old naturally-preserved mummy.
image credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology / EURAC / Samadelli
There’s very little written record of tattooing practises from antiquity. However, archaeologists and anthropologists believe they were often used to denote social status, express group affiliation or even used in an attempt to channel supernatural forces. Interestingly, Ötzi’s tattoos are thought to have been “therapeutic” and “medicinal”, with ancient cultures believing tattoos had healing properties that could relieve physical ailments and illness.
This suggests the first known tattoo was actually "medicinal" and didn't serve a cosmetic or social function, unlike the Chinchorro mummy's tattoos which are thought to be cosmetic. His tattoo was of numerous black dots in a line on his upper lip, where the moustache would be.
The researchers believe it is “highly unlikely” that Ötzi was the first tattooed person on Earth, though. They hope through new archaeological finds and more advanced dating techniques they will find a tattoo which is much older than 5,200 years.
image credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology / EURAC / Samadelli
image credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology / EURAC / Samadelli
