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Researchers have unveiled long “hidden” and finely detailed tattoo designs on the skin of ancient mummies from Peru, a study reports. Tattoos were a prevalent art form in pre-Hispanic South America, as attested by the discovery of mummified human remains in the region with preserved skin decoration that date back centuries, and even millennia.
While such body art works can provide insights into ancient cultures, tattoos are known to fade and bleed over time — a process compounded in mummies by the decay of the body. This often means that the original designs are difficult to make out.
In the latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers used a technique known as laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) to examine tattoos on mummified individuals belonging to the pre-Hispanic Chancay culture of what is now coastal Peru.
The mummified remains that team of researchers examined were originally discovered in 1981 at the Cerro Colorado cemetery archaeological site in the Huaura Valley of Peru. The LSF technique revealed “exceptionally fine” and previously unknown details of the ancient tattoos.
The team managed to identify intricate geometric and zoomorphic (representing animal forms) designs that were “very surprising” because they demonstrate a higher degree of artistic complexity than any other existing Chancay artwork, including on pottery and the culture's renowned textiles. The art of tattooing was clearly important to the Chancay, as evidenced by the high proportion of tattooed individuals among known mummified remains from the ancient culture.
Hidden Tattoos Revealed on 750-Year-Old Ancient Mummies: ‘Very Surprising’.
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The decomposition of the mummies adds to the effect of the gradual vanishing of the tattoos.