Iceman has the world’s oldest tattoos
Dozens of marks dot the body of 5,000-year-old European mummy
MARKED MAN A dispute over which of two ancient mummies sports the oldest known tattoos has been settled in favor of Ötzi the Iceman, who died roughly 5,250 years ago. Locations of Ötzi’s tattoos, which consist of groups of lines created by rubbing charcoal into skin incisions, are denoted by red boxes.
A. Deter-Wolf et al/Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2016