World's earliest figural tattoos discovered on Gebelein mummies

[Judi Lynn]

Newly discovered marks push back evidence for tattooing in Africa by a millennium

Mark Brown Arts correspondent

Wed 28 Feb 2018 19.01 EST


A wild bull, a Barbary sheep and S-shaped motifs discovered on two mummies in the British Museum have been revealed as the world’s earliest known figural tattoos.

Researchers say the discoveries on two naturally mummified bodies that date from between 3351 and 3017BC mean they will have to rewrite the story of tattooing.

Daniel Antoine, the curator of physical anthropology at the British Museum, said: “Incredibly, at over 5,000 years of age, they push back the evidence for tattooing in Africa by a millennium.”

The findings, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, concern a mummified man and woman from Egypt’s predynastic period, the era before the country’s unification by the first pharaoh in 3100BC.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/01/worlds-earliest-figural-tattoos-gebelein-mummies-british-museum

[Judi Lynn]

1. 'Oldest tattoo' found on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies

By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News
27 minutes ago

Researchers have discovered the oldest figurative tattoos in the world on two 5,000-year-old mummies from Egypt.

The illustrations are of a wild bull and a Barbary sheep on the upper-arm of a male mummy, and S-shaped motifs on the upper-arm and shoulder of a female.

The discovery pushes back evidence for the practice in Africa by 1,000 years.

Details of the tattoos have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43230202