Rare tattoos shape and composition on a South American mummy

Tattooing was a widely distributed cultural practice and seems to have been very persistent from the past to the present. Nevertheless, archaeological findings often lack of well-preserved soft tissues, and, so, of tattooed skin. Hence, ancient tattooed mummified skin is crucial for enhancing our understanding of these habits in past cultures. The present article aims at broadening the vision of ancient tattoo practice, highlighting the importance of applying a multidisciplinary approach. To do this, imaging analyses (i.e., 950 nm w/b IR Reflectography and 500–950 nm Infrared False-Colour) where performed on an unpublished and decontextualised South American mummified human body (housed at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin, Italy), in order to identify: presence, number and location of the tattoos. Moreover, chemical-physical techniques (i.e., X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry, µRaman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis) were used for identifying the black tattoo ink composition.

The results show both rare shapes/anatomical location (lines on cheeks and single S-like mark on a wrist) and unusual ink composition (presence of magnetite and intentional absence of charcoal as the only pigment, the most commonly used material reported in literature). The uncommon outcomes are supported by cultural observations.

To conclude, the research actively contributes in the study of ancient tattoo practice, in particular in South America about 8 centuries ago, and highlights the role of museum collections in the analysis of ancient cultures.