The Oldest Tattoo Art Known In The Egyptian Candle

In the right arm of an Ancient Egyptian mummy displayed at the British Museum, the oldest known art of tattooing was found for 5,200 years.

The researchers discovered tattoos on two natural mummies dating from 3351 to 3017 BC. A: British Museum

Scientists have discovered the world's oldest known tattoo art on an ancient Egyptian mummy, exhibited for 100 years at the British Museum.

Earlier, academics and museum visitors saw only pale and dark stains on the right arm of the mummified man. However, recent infrared surveys revealed that the traces were actually tattoos depicting two animals, a giant wild bull and a wild North African goat-like creature.

Probably the reason why this man has these tattoos is to emphasize his power and masculinity. Everywhere in the ancient world, both types of animals were often associated with male power, masculinity, fertility and creation.

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These two animals were tattooed on the right arm of the man about 5,200 years ago. Buzdam Ötzi, who was in the Alps and lived in Bronze age, is also known as the oldest tattooed individual. However, Ötzi had the tattoo of the lines and lines of abstract points in his body. On the other hand, this Ancient Egyptian mummy carries the oldest known tattoo example in figurative art form.

The male mummy, also known as the Man of the Pregnancy, was exhibited in the museum for 100 years. A: British Museum

The analysis of the tattoo art on the mummy shows that it is made with a carbon-based pigment (probably is).

The larger of the two tattooed figures depicted the giant wild bull, now a degenerate species. These bulls were animals that were feared, admired, and worshiped all over the ancient world.

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These probably originated in the great bull legends of the ancient world: the story of the Cretan Minotoru, the Mesopotamian Heavenly Bull and the Anatolian bull-shaped Thunderstorm God. In the ancient Egyptian religion, there were three bull gods, each symbolizing fertility or war.

The tattoos depicting the wild bull and the barber sheep on the male mummy's arm. A: British Museum

The other goat-like tattoo in the wax was probably a Berber sheep and was associated with masculinity.

In many parts of the ancient world, goat-like creatures are often associated with male sexuality. Mythology in Greece was generally regarded as an erotic Pan as a wild god. In ancient Egypt, the ram was sometimes perceived as a primitive force linked to birth. As a matter of fact, there were three Egyptian sheep gods linked to fertility and creation.

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The wild bull and Berber sheep's tattooed mummy lived before the time of the full-fledged hieroglyphic writing, and for this reason there was no written record of the beliefs of the time. But then Egypt and other belief systems and mythologies were well documented.

The female mummy, also known as the pregnant Woman, has beaters. A: British Museum

Scientists have also discovered a second ancient Egyptian tattooed from the same period. This second mummy was a female and had more abstract designs. There was a series of small S-shaped marks on his right shoulder and a line with a slightly curved top on his right arm. This motif in the arm could be a symbol of official authority.

Both the tattooed man and woman were mummified naturally in extra dry climates.

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There are at least 14 earlier natural Egyptian candlesticks in Egyptian, Canadian and Italian artifacts, some of which seem to be inspected with infrared imaging devices in hopes of discovering much earlier tattoos.

A tattoo in the form of a line with a curved top. A: British Museum

Before the discovery, the earliest known ancient tattoo of Ancient Egypt was dated to the year 2000, ie 1,200 years after the newly discovered tattooed mummy.

History of Dövmen
As in modern times, tattoos are a truly global phenomenon in the old world. Despite the discoveries in the British Museum and the tattoos of Buzadam Othzi, which are the oldest known tattoos, probably the invention of the tattoo was realized much earlier in various parts of the world.

There are some signs from the pottery figurines that the art form may have been applied in Japan about 12,000 years ago. It is known that the tattoo was known 4000 years ago in China and at least 1,500 years ago in South America. There are also signs of tattooing in the 40,000-year-old Stone Age European figurines.

S-shaped tattoos on the woman's arm. A: British Museum

The tattoos in the newly discovered Ancient Egyptian mummies also make a fascinating contribution to the past of artistic tradition around the world.

The mummies were first found in a graveyard 100 years ago, located in Gebelein in the south of Egypt and dating back to pre-Dynastic period.