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Ötzi the Iceman, discovered high in the Tyrolean Alps in 1991, had brown skin and eyes, and was likely bald. His surprisingly well-preserved body, which had been frozen under ice for some 5,300 years, revealed 61 tattoos across his body.
How and why Ötzi, perhaps the most studied cadaver in the world, acquired his body art has long been a source of fascination. Initial analysis suggests the tattoo was incised with a knife and infused with black pigment. Now, the latest research strongly suggests that a single-point puncture tool tipped with carbon pigment may have been behind the markings.
“One of the clues we identified was that many of the original studies done on his tattoos were done by excellent academics who did not themselves have tattoos and who had no personal knowledge of the tattooing process.” It was done by academics who had no prior experience,” Aaron said. Deter-Wolf, lead author of the new study.
EURAC Mummy Institute/Marco Samadeli
Research suggests Ötzi's tattoos, captured with image processing software, may have been part of an ancient healing technique.
“Over the years, I've had many conversations with professional tattoo artists, and when we talk about it or look at the pictures, they're like, oh, no, oh, no, that's definitely not the case. “They say it wasn't cut into the skin…but it wasn't exhibited in a scientifically sound environment,” said the prehistoric archaeologist with the Tennessee Department of Archeology, who has a tattoo similar to Ötzi's on his wrist. Deterwolf, who has tattoos, explained.
The study, published March 13 in the European Journal of Archeology, reviews existing literature on Ötzi tattoos and builds on current experiments that recreate the ancient tattoo technique.
“Most of them were on my lower legs and ankles. One on my left wrist and one in my lower back around my cervical spine,” Deterwolf said.
“Sometimes these lines intersect, but more often they are parallel to each other. They range from two (rows) to five or six.”
Scientists have analyzed almost every part of Ötzi and his belongings and have painted a detailed picture of life in the late 4th millennium BC. And while new research has helped us understand more about how the oldest tattoos in human history were created, questions still remain about the meaning behind the body art.
After Candice Nell, Deter-Wolf et al. 2022
A hand tap tattoo demonstration depicts the use of a bird bone point with a handle. This design was created during research into ancient tattoo tools and techniques in 2022 and is not one of Ötzi's tattoos.
Initially, researchers thought Ötzi had frozen to death, but an X-ray in 2001 revealed an arrowhead in his shoulder that would have been fatal. The Iceman probably also sustained injuries to his head at the same time, and a defensive wound can be seen on his right hand.
The mystery surrounding Ötzi's violent death – who he was and how he got to the mountain pass – is of interest far beyond the field of archeology. Every year, thousands of people visit his mummified remains on display at the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum in Bolzano, Italy.
The existing body of science about Ötzi is surprisingly comprehensive. Stomach contents yield information about his last meal and place of origin, research on his DNA reveals his ancestry and appearance, his weapon reveals he is right-handed, His clothing displayed an unusual look that shows what the ancients actually wore.
In a February 2016 study, Deterwolf compiled a database of dozens of ancient tattoo examples, including body art found on mummified bodies in Egypt, China, and the Incas, and found that Ötzi's body art is the oldest known. This is an example of a tattoo shown accurately. This feat was made possible thanks to non-destructive digital imaging technology and a collaboration between archaeologists and tattoo artists.
“If we all put our heads together, we can come up with better, more informed hypotheses about how these things work,” he said.
EURAC Mummy Institute/Marco Samadeli
Ötzi had tattoos in several places on his body.
A 2016 study suggests that tattoos are a long-standing and widespread cultural practice, with various means of permanently inserting pigments under the skin. This technique involves poking or tapping by hand using a single-point tool that may or may not have a handle. incision; and subcutaneous tattooing, in which a needle is threaded through a filament or tendon dipped in ink, or suturing of the skin.
In the September 2022 study, Deter-Wolf and colleagues also experimented with a variety of traditional methods. New Zealand-based traditional tattoo artist and study co-author Danny Liday used eight tools made from animal bone, obsidian, copper, boar tusk and a modern steel needle to tattoo the tattoos on the feet. I got a tattoo.
Deterwolf said the tattoos on Ötzi's body have rounded corners, consistent with hand tattoos, and were likely made of bone or copper. In contrast, incisional tattoos create sharp edges because the lines are cut into the skin.
“The variation in the lines is because we're placing these individual holes so close to each other that when you look at them at high enough magnification, you get a kind of pointillism effect depending on how much they overlap. This is because it will occur.”
The bone auricle that Ötzi carried in his toolkit was a likely candidate, but detailed studies have not yet been conducted to see if the microscopic wear marks match the tattoo's function. However, Deterwolf believes that this is unlikely.
“It's very exciting in the context of a lumberjack's kit rather than a tattoo kit.”
Dr Matt Rodder, Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory, explained how Ötzi's tattoo was likely created as the puncturing method used showed continuity with current tattoo techniques. He said the new knowledge was “particularly exciting.” Director of American Studies at the University of Essex, UK.
“To modern eyes, the real appeal of Ötzi's story is how relatable it is. Some people can relate to the feelings he must have felt while getting a tattoo, and the process he went through.” Painted People: Humanity in 21 Tattoos. Mr. Rodder, who is also the author, says: He was not involved in the study.
“The fact that we can identify so strongly with a person who lived 5,000 years ago is an incredibly powerful connection to our shared human past.”
South Tyrol Archaeological Museum/Ochsenreiter
A reconstruction of Ötzi the Iceman is on display at the Archaeological Museum of South Tyrol. Based on his DNA, scientists now believe he had brown skin and eyes and may have been bald.
Why did Ötzi have so many tattoos? One explanation published in the scientific literature is that they are an ancient healing technique, a bit like early acupuncture, rather than body art. Many of the tattoos may have been an ancient method of treating joint pain in his hips, knees, hips, and wrists.
“We don't subscribe to the idea that they could have had a therapeutic effect. We think everything is on the table. Just because something gave us a cure doesn't mean it That's not to say that it doesn't have culturally symbolic value,” Deterwolf said.
Marco Sammaderi, a senior researcher at the mummy research laboratory at Eurac Research, a private research institute in Bolzano, said the work was of a “high scientific standard”.
“Although the authors do not advocate with absolute certainty a single-instrument puncture tattoo technique, they do provide a broad range of plausible explanations,” he said in an email. .
Samaderi encouraged the team to continue researching Ötzi's tattoos and how they were created.
“Currently, there are no plans to examine whether the bone awl and horn teeth found with Iceman were used as manual tools, but Aaron Deter-Wolff's continued interest led the Scientific Committee to I hope you will apply to “analyze and study them at the Ötzi Museum.'' ”
