Since its discovery on December 19, 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi (artist’s impression) has provided insight into early human history.
Since his discovery on December 19, 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi has provided a glimpse into early human history.
His mummified remains were discovered in a melting glacier in the mountainous border between Austria and Italy.
Analysis of the body has shown us that he lived during the Copper Age and died a gruesome death.
Ötzi, who was 46 at the time of his death, had brown eyes, family in Sardinia and was lactose intolerant.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi’s body, using light of different wavelengths to distinguish them on the mummy’s dark skin.
And in December 2015, they were confirmed to be the world’s oldest knock marks on an unidentified South American Chinchorro mummy.
Experts thought the South American mummy with a mustache-like tattoo on his face died around 4000 BC, before realizing he was younger than Ötzi, who was murdered around 3250 BC.
Although researchers are unsure why Ötzi had the tattoos, many believe they served as a form of acupuncture.
“We know they were real tattoos,” said Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy. LiveScience.
The old tattoo artist who applied them ‘made the incisions in the skin and applied charcoal mixed with some herbs.’
The tattoos, which are found mainly on Ötzi’s lower back and legs, between the knee and the food, may have been a way to alleviate the effects of chronic pain or injuries.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi’s body, using light of different wavelengths to distinguish them on the mummy’s dark skin. In December 2015, it was confirmed that they were the oldest tattoos in the world.
It was believed that Ötzi had done a lot of walking in the Alps, which could have led to joint pain in his knees and ankles.
The 61st tattoo, found on the rib cage, has confused researchers who suggest Ötzi may also have suffered from chest pain.
If the tattoos had no therapeutic use, the researchers say they could have a symbolic or religious meaning.
Alternatively, they can simply be geometric shapes with no hidden meaning.
In March 2018, figurative tattoos were discovered on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies at the British Museum.
Experts said these were the world’s first figurative tattoos.
The tattoos 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 find dates tattoos with images instead of geometric patterns to 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Researchers say the discovery ‘transforms’ our understanding of how people lived during this period.