For centuries, body art has served as a powerful reflection of personal identity and cultural values. Far from serving as simple decoration, tattooing in ancient communities often had far more profound connotations: it was linked to rituals, marked with status, or rooted in spiritual beliefs. Motivations behind the practice are still a subject of research,…
Lasers help archaeologists study ancient tattoos on Peruvian mummies (Picture credit: AP) WASHINGTON: For more than 5,000 years, humans have adorned themselves with tattoos. In a new study, researchers used lasers to uncover highly intricate designs of ancient tattoos on mummies from Peru. The preserved skin of the mummies and the black tattoo ink used…
A culture flourished along the central Peruvian coast from about A.D. 900 to 1500. Called the Chancay, they left behind a wealth of cultural remains, including intricate tattoos that are preserved to this day on the skin of mummified individuals. New details of these tattoos that were previously hidden to the naked eye, including finely…