Tattoos on the face of an 800-year-old mummy have confused scientists

The mummy was donated to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (MAET) of the University of Turin before 1930, without any documentation or excavation information. However, it recently attracted the attention of researchers due to the tattoos on its face.

In a newly published study, an international team of researchers analyzed the mummy in detail. The findings are quite unusual, both in terms of the placement of the tattoos and the nature of the ink used.

The woman's hair was cut short and straight, and her body was tightly curled into a sitting position, in keeping with Andean mummification customs. Carbon dating analysis of textile fragments stuck to the body put the date of death between 1215 and 1382 AD.

"The state of preservation, body position, accompanying materials and available documentation all provide strong indications of a South American origin," said Gianluigi Mangiapane, an anthropologist at the University of Turin and leader of the research team.

In the examinations carried out with the infrared reflectography technique, three lines were revealed on his right cheek, one line on his left cheek and an S-shaped mark on his right wrist. The researchers emphasized that these patterns are rare in ancient Andean societies and that the S-shaped tattoo in particular is “unique” for this region.

The ink used in the tattoo was analyzed non-invasively. Expecting a coal-based ink, the team instead detected magnetite (an iron oxide mineral) and small amounts of augite. One of the places where these minerals are found together is southern Peru, which gave a clue to the possible origin of the mummy.

But Aaron Deter-Wolf, an archaeologist with the Tennessee Department of Archaeology and an expert in ancient tattooing who was not involved in the study, said the facial patterns were more similar in style to Arctic or Amazonian societies than to Andean traditions. “Further analysis using methods such as oxygen isotopes could yield very interesting results,” Deter-Wolf said.

Isotope analyses have not been performed for now, as such procedures can damage the integrity of the remains. However, MAET is open to future studies and aims to better understand the meaning of the facial tattoos of this mysterious mummy through cultural comparisons.