The researchers say the discoveries of these two natural mummies date from 3351 to 3017 BC, meaning they will have to rewrite the story of tattooing in Europe. Africa can be pushed back 1,000 years, and for both sexes..
Daniel Antoine, defender of physical anthropology at the British Museum, said: "It's amazing how, at over 5,000 years old, they've pushed back the evidence of tattooing in Africa by 1,000 years."
The finds
published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, involve the mummified remains of a man and a woman from the Depression period of Egypt, the era before the country was unified by the skull pattern tanktop legging early pharaohs. first in 3100 BC.
The male mummy, known as Gebelein Man A, is a library favorite. He is one of the best preserved mummies in the world and has been on display almost continuously since its discovery 100 years ago. In 2012, it was revealed that he was probably stabbed and killed from behind.
Previously, the indistinct dark stains on the man's right arm were considered unimportant and untested. Now, it has been discovered to be a tattoo of a bull and a sheep. They may have been tattooed as symbols of strength and toughness.
Before this discovery, archaeologists thought that tattoos were restricted to women only.
Regarding the female mummy
known as the Gebelein Woman, researchers discovered a series of four small, S-shaped specimens that are more difficult to interpret. They can be curved sticks or draw sticks or skeins used in ritual dance.
Tattoos were part of many ancient cultures. Prior to these custom baseball uniforms latest discoveries, the oldest surviving examples were the geometric tattoos on the Alpine mummy known as Ötzi the Iceman. He dates from the fourth millennium BC, so is roughly equivalent to Gebelein's mummy.
Antoine, one of the researchers who led the report, said the use of CT scanning, radiocarbon dating and infrared imaging "has changed our understanding of the mummy of Gebelein. We now have a deeper insight into the lives of these exceptionally well-preserved individuals."