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