Journal of Cultural Heritage 73 (2025) 561–570

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Journal of Cultural Heritage

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/culher

Original article

Rare tattoos shape and composition on a South American mummy

Gianluigi Mangiapane a, Elisabetta Di Francia b,1,∗, Robin Gerst c, Thierry Radelet d,
Maurizio Aceto e, Angelo Agostino f, Rosa Boano b,g
a
University of Turin, Museal System, corso Massimo d’Azeglio 52, 10126 Turin, Italy
b
University of Turin, Dept. of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Laboratory of Anthropology, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10127, Turin, Italy
c
Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften, Norbert-Wollheim-Platz 1, 60629 Frankfurt (Main), Germany
d
Laboratorio di restauro e analisi Thierry Radelet srls, via Modena 58, 10153 Torino, Italy
e
Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale, DiSSTE Dipartimento per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile e la Transizione Ecologica, Piazza S. Eusebio 5, 1300 Vercelli,
Italy
f
University of Turin, Dept. of Chemistry, Via Pietro Giuria 7, 10125 Turin, Italy
g
Université de la Méditerranée, Faculté de Médecine, UMR 6578, (Anthropologie Bioculturelle), Université de la Méditerranée, CNRS, EFS, 51 bd Pierre
Dramard, 13916 Marseille, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Tattooing was a widely distributed cultural practice and seems to have been very persistent from the
Received 19 September 2024 past to the present. Nevertheless, archaeological findings often lack of well-preserved soft tissues, and,
Accepted 11 April 2025
so, of tattooed skin. Hence, ancient tattooed mummified skin is crucial for enhancing our understand-
ing of these habits in past cultures. The present article aims at broadening the vision of ancient tattoo
Keywords: practice, highlighting the importance of applying a multidisciplinary approach. To do this, imaging anal-
South American mummy yses (i.e., 950 nm w/b IR Reflectography and 500–950 nm Infrared False-Colour) where performed on an
Tattoo unpublished and decontextualised South American mummified human body (housed at the Museum of
Infrared False-Colour Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin, Italy), in order to identify: presence, number
μRaman
and location of the tattoos. Moreover, chemical-physical techniques (i.e., X-Ray Fluorescence spectrom-
SEM-EDX
etry, μRaman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope coupled with an Energy Dispersive X-Ray
Magnetite composition
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 pig-
ment, 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.
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

1. Introduction in every continent showing the degree of cultural diversity found

in body decorations. Among these body modification practices, tat-
Throughout the ages, humans have altered and decorated their tooing was –and still is today– a widely distributed cultural habit.
body to conform to a variety of standards of beauty, social status, In spite of this, ancient human remains with preserved tattooed
group affiliation, or ritual therapeutical reasons. Examples abound skin are not very common in archaeological findings because of
the lack of preservation of the soft tissues. This is why tattoos are
very important for the study of this practice in past cultures.
∗
Corresponding author. Indeed, the cultural and scientific study of tattoos can reveal
E-mail addresses: gianluigi.mangiapane@unito.it (G. Mangiapane),
much about the understanding of the body and corporeality in pre-
elisabetta.difrancia@unito.it (E. Di Francia), r.gerst@stud.uni-frankfurt.de (R. Gerst),
t.radelet@laboratorio-radelet.com (T. Radelet), maurizio.aceto@uniupo.it (M. Aceto), history, social organisation, cultural identity, therapeutic efforts to
angelo.agostino@unito.it (A. Agostino), rosa.boano@unito.it (R. Boano). cure illness, supernatural beliefs of past peoples; tattoos represent
1
Present Address: University of Turin, Dept. of Physics, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 tangible and intangible culture that are important parts of a soci-
Turin, Italy. ety’s heritage.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2025.04.013
1296-2074/© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
G. Mangiapane, E. Di Francia, R. Gerst et al. Journal of Cultural Heritage 73 (2025) 561–570

One of the world’s most ancient tattoos present on a mum-

mified human body was radiocarbon dated back to over 5300
years ago, belonging to the Ice-man mummy housed in Italy
at Bolzano Archaeological Museum [1,2]. Also, the tattoos de-
scribed on Gebelein Egyptian predynastic mummies were radiocar-
bon dated as approximately contemporary with the Ice-man and
can be considered among the earliest evidence of tattoos in the
world [3]. An extensive list of preserved skin with evidence of tat-
toos was reported in [2] and an online data set was created to
collect updated information and references [4], showing that the
South American coastal deserts are the region with the most pre-
served tattooed human remains worldwide.
In recent years, bioarchaeological studies have been focused
on communicative or non-communicative/therapeutic tattoos func-
tions, highlighting the presence of care [5–7]. Some researchers
have also considered the tattoo-tool tips study as a potential
method for detecting tattooing practice and deducting tattoo’s
compositions and shapes [8–11]. Few authors have also reported
information on tattoos compositions originated from ethnographi-
cal observations or travellers’ accounts [9,12–14].

1.2. Ancient mummies, tattoos and scientific analyses

In literature, the most used techniques for identifying and de-

scribing tattoos is the photographic one (in particular the Infrared
Reflectography and its evolution: the imaging). The use of pho-
tographic/imaging techniques were reported by several authors to
identify tattoos from different part of the world: Armelagos [15]
in Nubia, Smith and Zimmerman [12] in Alaska, Sjøvold et al. [13]
and Samadelli et al. [1] in Northern Italy, Alvrus et al. [16] in Nubia,
Friedman et al. [3] in Egypt. However, these techniques can provide
only some cue about the composition of the materials used. Fig. 1. Mummified female body from South America in a Museum showcase
(archive photograph, 1930).
Despite the numerous papers which describe tattoos on an-
cient mummified tissues, and their possible interpretations, sci-
entific identifications of the materials used as ancient inks are
To do this, a scientific approach was applied with the final goal
barely reported. Black tattoos are generally stated as made of soot,
of identifying presence, number and location of the mummy’s tat-
without any scientific analysis: assumptions are based on ancient
toos, by exploiting non-invasive photograph analyses, and of deter-
travellers’ accounts, contemporary ethnographic observations, and
mining the composition of the ink used for the tattoo, by micro-
common identification used in the past.
invasive chemical-physical analyses. To complete the study, a com-
Modern analytical techniques such as Raman spectroscopy,
parison with the literature was also performed in order to interpret
physical analyses and various electron microscopic methods
the tattoo marks and possibly give back a cultural context to the
have been rarely applied to increase the knowledge about the
find.
ink/pigment composition used in ancient tattooing [17–22]. More-
An additional final aim of the present study is to highlight the
over, even experimental archaeological analyses on simulated
importance of performing compositional analyses on ancient tat-
mummified tissues are published [14].
toos’ pigments, when possible, providing accurate data instead of
Table 1 represents a list of references reporting information on
more common assumptions.
scientific analyses that have been used to document the presence
of tattoos and/or their compositions as well as information on ge-
ographical locations and tattoos descriptions (anatomical locations 3. Materials and methods
and morphologies). [It should be noted that Table 1 does not in-
clude unpublished specimens, both from museums and private col- 3.1. The case study: the tattooed mummy
lections].
The multidisciplinary present work aims at broadening the One of the specimens of the anthropological collection of the
vision of ancient tattoo practice, in particular in South Amer- Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (MAET) of the Univer-
ica, throughout cultural observations and imaging and chemical- sity of Turin (Italy) is an adult female mummy from South Amer-
physical techniques, in order to both identify and analytical char- ica of unknown date and precise origin. This human remain has
acterise pigments on mummified tissues. The importance of per- the inventory number MAET_CAP_01, and, as written in 1936 by
forming compositional analyses on tattoos’ inks is highlighted. Giovanni Marro (1875–1952), the founder of the Museum, was do-
nated before 1931 by Emanuele Franco, a person whose name is
2. Research aim known only. Fig. 1 shows the mummified human body in an his-
torical exposition in the Museum.
The aim of this multidisciplinary work is to contribute to the No written data were found on record concerning its origin, ar-
knowledge of tattoo practice in South America about 8 centuries chaeological context or arrival in the Museum. This was quite com-
ago, throughout the study of an unpublished and decontextualised mon in the past century [28,29]. The mummy presents probably
tattooed mummy housed at the Museum of Anthropology and naturally mummified soft tissues and lissotrichous black hair well
Ethnography (MAET) of the University of Turin (Italy). preserved by natural dehydration due to dryness [30]. The skin ap-

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 G. Mangiapane, E. Di Francia, R. Gerst et al.
Table 1
Scientific studies on tattoos (identification/morphology and composition) performed on ancient human tattoos associated with sites, dates, anatomical location and anthropological data of the finds. Techniques mentioned in
the table (acronymous): Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Electron Energy-Loss Spectrometry (EELS), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDXS), Energy
Filtering TEM (EFTEM), 7-Band Hypercolorimetric Multispectral Imaging (HMI7), X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF).

Reference Geographical Date/Culture Anatomical location Sex Morphology Characterisation Characterisation Composition
(by publication location technique (morphology) technique
date ↓) (composition)

[15] Egypt (Nubia) 350 - 550 CE Thigh M Drawings IR-photography

[12] US (Alaska) 282 - 405 CE; Face, hand, forearm F Row of dots, lines, flanged IR-photography Soot
Old Bearing Sea heart
phase
[23] Chile (Arica) 1880 BCE - 1400 CE; Wrist, back of hand, F, M (several) Cords and lines, circles, IR-photography Probably charcoal
various groups face (cheek & complex figures, possibly
(Chinchorro, Maitas upper lip) bird-like
Chiribayas, Tiwanaku,
San Miguel)
[17] Italy (Alps) 3370 - 3100 BCE Back, knee, ankle M (Ötzi) Parallel lines and crosses OM, SEM, TEM, X-Ray Soot (?)
microanalysis
(cross-section)
[13] Italy (Alps) 3370 - 3100 BCE Back, wrist, knee, M (Ötzi) 58 lines (16 groups of IR-photography,
563

ankle parallel lines, two crosses) IR-Colour

[16] Egypt (Nubia) 350 BCE - 350 CE; Hand F (?) Cruciform shapes IR-Reflectography Carbon, inorganic
Meroitic period substances
[24,25] Greenland c. 1460 CE Face F (several) Linear patterns (brow), IR-photography, digital Soot
vertical parallel lines (chin) video camera with a
“night-shot” filter
[18] Italy (Alps) 3370 - 3100 BCE Back, knee, ankle M (Ötzi) Groups of parallel lines, OM, TEM, EDXS, EELS, Soot (ash in one tattoo)
crosses EFETEM (semi-
/ultrathin-section)
[19] Southern Peru 1000 CE; Neck F Circles OM, TEM, EDXS, EELS, Charcoal/ash from partly
Chiribaya Raman pyrolysed plant material
(fine-/ultrafine-section) (amorphous C + small
amounts of O, N, Si, S,

Journal of Cultural Heritage 73 (2025) 561–570

Ca, inorganic particles)
Hands, leg, forearms F Bees, birds, reptiles, symbols Soot (amorphous
C + small amounts of O,
N, Si, S, Ca)
[20] Peru c. 450 CE; Arms, hands, foots F (Lady of Snake, spider, jaguar, Stereoscope FeO
Mochica early Cao) geometrical shape microscope, SEM-EDS
(surface)
(continued on next page)
 G. Mangiapane, E. Di Francia, R. Gerst et al.
Table 1 (continued)

Reference Geographical Date/Culture Anatomical location Sex Morphology Characterisation Characterisation Composition
(by publication location technique (morphology) technique
date ↓) (composition)

[21,22] Peru 500 BCE - 100 CE; Arms, forearms, hands, F, M (several) Points, lines, circles, grouped IR-Reflectography OM, XRF Soot (+ small amounts of
Paracas thighs, legs, ankles, birds/felines/ichthyomorphs/ Fe, Cu, Si)
foots, ear, shoulders, killer whale drawings
knee
[1] Italy (Alps) 3370 - 3100 BCE Back, wrist, leg, knee, M (Ötzi) 61 tattoos (19 group of Multispectral imaging
ankle, chest lines + 2 crosses) (UV-IR range, HMI7)
[3] Egypt (Gebelein) 3341 - 3017 BCE Right arm M Two horned animals IR imaging Carbon-based substance,
and 3327 - 3030 BCE Presumably some sort of
564

3351 - 3092 BCE and soot

Right shoulder, upper F Four “S” shaped motifs,
3334 - 3104 BCE;
right arm, lower Line with short
Predynastic period
abdomen perpendicular strokes,
irregular line
[26] Peru 1000 - 1475 CE Right forearm, left / Zoomorphic, linear and IR imaging SEM-EDS Carbon-based substance
hand, thumb geometric drawing
[27] Egypt 1295 - 1069 BCE; F Dots, geometric drawing, IR-photography
New Kingdom zoomorphic (?)
Lower torso F Geometric drawing IR-photography
This work South America 1215 - 1382 CE Cheeks, right wrist F Lines, “S” shaped motif IR-Reflectography, XRF, μRaman, SEM-EDX Fe3 O4 + mix of iron
(Andean region?) 500–950 nm IR (surface) compounds
False-Colour

Journal of Cultural Heritage 73 (2025) 561–570

G. Mangiapane, E. Di Francia, R. Gerst et al. Journal of Cultural Heritage 73 (2025) 561–570

pears very dark probably due to post-mortem changes. The body since the environment museum and due to instrumentation lim-
is tightly flexed (a form of burial typical of the Andean region) in its, no results were obtained. Therefore, two areas of tissue (both
a sitting position with no accompanying funerary wrappings, or- < 2 mm × 2 mm in size) were taken from the left cheek: a micro
naments, or grave goods. A few textile fragments, perhaps from sample of skin bearing a tattoo and a micro sample of skin without
long lost animal fibres wrappings or bundles, are still adhered to the tattoo, to use as control sample.
the surface of the body. They were radiocarbon dated from 1215 Micro-Raman spectroscopy (μRaman) and Scanning Electron
CE to 1382 CE, calibrated age range 95 %. It can be assumed that Microscope coupled with an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis
the body was part of a typical Andean mummy bundle (fardo), in (SEM-EDX) were employed in a more controlled laboratory envi-
which the corpse is wrapped in several layers of textile and tied ronment in order to identify the materials used for tattooing.
into a bundle. Under visible light, the facial tattoos appear as a se- μRaman analyses were performed using a bench top high-
ries of three straight, widely spaced, dark lines running across the resolution dispersive Jobin Yvon-Horiba (Villeneuve d’Ascq, France)
right cheek, from the mouth to the ear. Nevertheless, due to the LABRAM HR model spectrophotometer on the cross-section sam-
poor contrast between the tattoos and the surrounding dark skin, ples. The spectrophotometer is equipped with a confocal micro-
details of the tattoos are difficult to resolve to the naked eye, even scope, a 632.8 nm excitation laser, a 600 lines/mm dispersive grat-
when observed at close range. ing, a 800 mm path monochromator and a Peltier cooled CCD de-
tector. The optical arrangement on the instrument gave a spectral
3.2. Detection of tattoos: imaging analyses resolution of about 4 cm-1 . Long working distance 20x, 50x and
100x objectives were used to visualise samples. Spectra were col-
Mummy’s surface was first examined using multispectral photo- lected with exposure times in the range of 1 s to 180 s according
graph analyses in order to enhance the visibility of tattoo marks on to needs. Laser power on the sample was kept < 1 mW.
the mummified tissues. In particular, diffused light (in the visible SEM-EDX analyses were conducted with a Quanta 200 FEI
range light), 950 nm white/black Infrared Reflectography (w/b IR (Hillsboro, Oregon) Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with
Reflectography) and 500–950 nm Infrared False-Colour (IRFC) anal- EDAX (Mahwah, New Jersey) EDS attachment, using a tungsten fil-
yses were conducted. The multispectral analyses were carried out ament as electron source at 20 keV. The instrument was used in
with a Fuji S3 PRO IR-UV digital camera (with silicon CCD sensor, E-SEM mode (90 mbar of water pressure in chamber) in order to
without internal filters and, so, sensible in the range from 320 nm avoid samples metallisation.
to 950 nm). The specimen was photographed in its entirety in four
different perspectives. 4. Results
The analysis in diffused light was performed using a flash
light source connected to the electronic instrument of recovery. 4.1. Detection of tattoos: imaging results
A 380 nm to 780 nm bandpass filter was placed in front of the
camera. The electronic flash and camera were positioned approxi- Multispectral analyses provide a significant extension of the
mately 2.5 m away from the mummy. The analysis in 950 nm w/b range offered by ordinary light (Fig. 2). The w/b IR Reflectography
IR Reflectography was conducted without moving the equipment (Fig. 2b) and the IR False-Colour (Fig. 2c) images gave the most sig-
previously located in the analysis in diffused light. The passband nificant results for enhancing the visibility of tattoo marks on the
filter was replaced by a Cokin 89b filter to select the single in- dehydrated mummified tissues (Fig. 2a). The set of lines located
frared component (Fig. S1, Supplementary materials). Subsequently, on the right side of the face are well defined as dark lines run-
the 500–950 nm IRFC analysis was obtained overlapping the dig- ning across the cheek, from the mouth to the ear, straight, widely
ital photos in diffused light and in w/b IR Reflectography with an spaced, about 6 cm long.
appropriate software. Moreover, the most important result was achieved with this
All digital images obtained in this way, saved in JPG format technique: the revelation of new additional tattoos that are not vis-
with a resolution of 11 Mpixel, were then individually analysed and ible to the naked eye because of the darkness of the skin. One is
compared. located on the left cheek: the w/b IR Reflectography and the IRFC
images evidence traces of a linear tattoo about 2 cm long (Fig. 3).
3.3. Tattoo composition: chemical-physical analyses The left cheek has been damaged by mechanical and environ-
mental action: it is impossible to understand the real extension of
In situ X-Ray Fluorescence analyses were conducted using a the tattoo and even if it was composed of three lines, like in the
portable THERMO Niton XL5 Plus (East Greenbush, NY) XRF spec- opposite side.
trometer equipped with a silicon drift detector (SDD) featuring a The second newly detected tattoo is an approximately 2.5 cm
graphene window and an energy resolution of 135 eV @Mn Kα . long S-like mark, located on the right wrist (Fig. 4). It is not visible
The instrument includes an X-ray tube with an Ag anode (6–50 kV, by diffused light, but it absorbs the infrared wavelength like the
0–500 μA, 5 W max). Each analysis consisted of four sequential two tattoos described above.
measurements using different voltages and filters (Main: 40 kV,
Al/Fe filter; High: 50 kV, Mo filter; Low: 20 kV, Cu filter; Light: 4.2. Tattoo composition: chemical-physical results
7 kV, no filter) to enhance the material’s response across the whole
energy range of the spectrum. The analysis spot had an elliptical Regarding the compositional characterisation of tattoos, IR Re-
shape with a diameter of 3 mm and the total measurement time flectography suggested the use of a carbon-based pigment (e.g.
was 120 s. The instrument’s probe was mounted on a tripod al- soot) or of a pigment able to absorb the infrared radiation, as hy-
lowing flexible positioning in the various conditions encountered pothesised from similar analysis reported in literature (Table 1).
during the analysis sessions. In situ analyses of the tattoos on the cheek (Fig. 2) and wrist
All spectra were processed using the commercial software BAxil (Fig. 4) revealed the presence of iron and manganese-based inor-
(Brightspec NV/SA, Belgium) derived from the academic software ganic compounds. Additionally, titanium impurities were detected
QXAS developed by the IAEA using certified reference materials and correlated with the concentration of iron. It is noteworthy that
(MBH, NIST). zinc was also found, possibly attributable to conservation treat-
A Raman portable instrument was firstly employed for in situ ments applied to the mummy, as well as bromine and sulphur,
compositional analyses on the visible tattooed areas. However, likely used as insecticides or fumigants. All typical skin-related

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G. Mangiapane, E. Di Francia, R. Gerst et al. Journal of Cultural Heritage 73 (2025) 561–570

Fig. 2. Right cheek of the mummy and magnification (in the boxes) of the three-line tattoos: a) visible light; b) 950 nm w/b IR Reflectography; c) 500–950 nm IR False-Colour.

Fig. 3. Left cheek of the mummy, partially deteriorated, and magnification (in the boxes) of the tattoo line: a) visible light; b) 950 nm w/b IR Reflectography, c) 500–950 nm
IR False-Colour.

Fig. 4. Right side of the mummy: a) S-like mark tattoo image (lateral view). Magni-
fication (in the boxes, frontal view): b) visible light; c) 950 nm w/b IR Reflectography;
d) 500–950 nm IR False-Colour.

elements, including calcium, potassium, chlorine, and phosphorus

(likely from the bone structure), were also detected (Fig. 5).
Significant differences between the two analysed areas (Figs. 2
and 4) were observed, particularly in the concentrations of iron,
manganese, and elements associated with aluminosilicate com-
pounds, which were found in negligible amounts in the wrist area Fig. 5. XRF spectrum of the tattooed skin.
(Fig. 4).
The presence of iron was confirmed by μRaman analyses which
identified two different iron compounds in the tattooed skin micro
sample. In Fig. 6 the Raman spectrum of a black tattoo particle (1) 405, 493, 604 and 1306 cm-1 ), a feature already described by other
is compared with those spectra of hematite (Fe2 O3 ) and magnetite authors [31,32].
(Fe3 O4 ), showing peaks for both iron oxides. Therefore, according In Fig. 7 the spectrum of another black particle (2) is com-
to the peak at 656 cm-1 , the presence of black magnetite can be pared with those of some silicates of the pyroxene group: bronzite
suggested (Table 2), because this iron oxide under laser irradiation (Mg,Fe2+ )2 [SiO3 ]2 , hypersthene (same stoichiometry), and augite
changes to hematite (identified thanks to the peaks at 221, 287, (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe2+ ,Fe3+ ,Ti)[Si2 O6 ].

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Table 2
Main peaks identified in the Raman spectra of some mineral phases.

Mineral phase Peaks∗

Hematite 223 cm-1 (s), 289 cm-1 (s), 402 cm-1 (s), 489 cm-1 (w), 602 cm-1 (m), 809 cm-1 (w), 1049 cm-1 (w), 1303 cm-1 (s)

Magnetite 553 cm-1 (w), 663 cm-1 (s)

Augite 326 cm-1 (m), 388 cm-1 (m), 479 cm-1 (vw), 532 cm-1 (w), 534 cm-1 (w), 663 cm-1 (s), 819 cm-1 (w), 1006 cm-1 (s)

Bronzite 236 cm-1 (m), 339 cm-1 (s), 401 cm-1 (m), 547 cm-1 (w), 663 cm-1 (m), 681 cm-1 (s), 856 cm-1 (w), 928 cm-1 (w), 1010 cm-1 (sh), 1027 cm-1 (s)

Hypersthene 226 cm-1 (m), 335 cm-1 (s), 391 cm-1 (s), 538 cm-1 (m), 675 cm-1 (s), 744 cm-1 (w), 940 cm-1 (w), 1002 cm-1 (s)

black particle 1 221 cm-1 (s), 287 cm-1 (s), 405 cm-1 (s), 493 cm-1 (w), 604 cm-1 (m), 656 cm-1 (m), 1306 cm-1 (s)

black particle 2 334 cm-1 (m), 391 cm-1 (w), 676 cm-1 (m), 1007 cm-1 (m)
∗
vw: very weak; w: weak; m: medium; s: strong.

Fig. 6. Raman spectra: a) black particle 1 from tattoo; b) hematite; c) magnetite.

Spectra are offset on Y axis to better appreciate the comparison among the spectra.
Source: RRUFF database [33], spectra obtained with a 532 nm laser.

Fig. 7. Raman spectra of tattoo black particle 2 compared with those of some sil- Fig. 8. SEM-EDX analysis: elemental maps of Al, C, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na and Si on a
icates of the pyroxene group: augite, bronzite and hypersthene. Spectra are offset tattooed skin micro sample.
on Y axis to better appreciate the comparison among the spectra. Source: RRUFF
database [33], spectra obtained with a 532 nm laser.

clearly show an area rich in Ca, Fe, Mg, and Si corresponding to

the particle that yielded the Raman spectrum shown in Fig. 7.
While the identification of magnetite was relatively straightfor- A semi-quantitative measurement on the particle (Table 3) sug-
ward, the spectrum of the other black particle has features com- gested that the sum of Ca, Fe and Mg cations, with smaller
mon with different Fe-rich pyroxenes silicates, as can be seen from amounts of K, Mn, Na and Ti, equals that of Si, so that, it is possible
Fig. 7. According to the peaks at 334, 391, 676 and 1007 cm-1 , to hypothesise the stoichiometry (Ca,Mg,Fe2+ )[Si2 O6 ], more similar
the best match seems to be with augite. Table 2 reports the main to augite, according to the definition of Morimoto et al. [34], than
peaks identified in the Raman spectra of reference mineral phases to the other two pyroxenes bronzite and hypersthene.
and of the tattoo black particle 1 and 2. Sources of augite are present in South America, in particular
To verify the identification of augite in the black particle 2, SEM- in Peru (Palma deposit, Antioquia District; Mariela Fe deposit, Co-
EDX analyses were performed on the tattooed skin micro sample. cachacra District). Moreover, in this last deposit (located in Are-
The elemental maps of Al, C, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na and Si (Fig. 8) quipa, Peru), augite is generally associated with magnetite [35].

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Table 3 in the forearm of a mummy from Pacatnamú; and Verano [64]

Concentrations of elements in the black particle 2
found tattoos in the forearms of mummies also from Pacatnamú
after SEM-EDX analysis.
belonging to the Late Moche and Lambayeque Period (ca. 500–
Element % + rsd 1400 CE). In all the aforementioned cases, the designs are elaborate
Al 2.0 ± 77 and complex involving the forearms, wrists and/or hands.
Ca 4.1 ± 68 The “S” pattern mark found on the MAET mummy’s wrist is
Fe 7.3 ± 15 similar to those described by Dorfel et al. [65] in a mummy from
K 0.4 ± 49
Southern Peru: however, in that case the tattoo is a more com-
Mg 11.8 ± 32
Mn 0.8 ± 47 plex drawing with a repetition of grouped “S”. These authors de-
Na 1.2 ± 54 scribe several ornamental tattoos depicting stylised animals among
O 44.7 ± 4 which there were reptiles. In addition to this, there are only dis-
Si 27.5 ± 10
tant similarities with the S-like shape in the figurative representa-
Ti 0.4 ± 65
tions within the pre-Columbian ceramics from Peru; S-like struc-
tures also appear in individual textiles [66,67].
Also in this case, it is possible to state that the solitary S-like
5. Discussion mark of the MAET mummy is so far unique for the Andean region
as a tattoo and no parallels are known on mummy skin.
5.1. Interpretation of tattoo marks and cultural observations
5.2. Tattoo composition
The multispectral analyses demonstrate, in a totally non-
invasive way, the presence of several tattoo marks in both cheeks The chemical-physical characterisation on the tattoo of the
and in the right-hand wrist of this female mummy. MAET South American mummy highlights the presence of mag-
Tattoos present on the MAET mummy are simple drawings dif- netite and some mineral phases of silicates of the pyroxene group,
ficult to interpret and identify with a specific culture. Revising possibly augite, generally associated with the presence of this black
several works reported in literature on South American tattoos, mineral pigment. This is not surprising considering the availability
the described tattoos are generally more complex drawings and of magnetite and the use already reported in native tribes of to-
mostly present on hands, wrists, forearms and feet. Cheek tattoos day by Poon et al. [14]; while it is a novelty its identification on
are less present (or underestimated due to difficulties in finding ancient mummified tissue. In addition to this, the identification of
preserved skin). Until now, no certain correspondence has been pyroxenes as tattoo pigment is even less common.
found among the “S” motif and 3-lines cheek tattoos detected on Indeed, as stated in Section 1.2, only few studies reported scien-
this mummy and the South American tattoos reported in literature tific identifications of the materials used as inks on ancient mum-
[2,19–23,26,36–58]. mified tissues, instead of merely assumptions.
In this contest, it must be known that, in the study of an- Moreover, a chemical-physical ink identification without a
cient tattoos, archaeological objects such as ceramic vases and wall knowledge of the material (any) used by the past cultures might
paintings can provide supporting information [39,59,60]. An exam- be difficult. Also, for this reason, modern organic tattooing inks
ple has been given by Gillreath-Brown and collaborators [11] high- and pigments used in real skin substrates have been examined us-
lighting the difficulty in studying tattooing practice in ancient so- ing chemical analysis for comparative studies with old pigments
cieties for which no tattooed mummies are present: the study can [14,68], in order to increase the possibility of identifying the com-
be based on decorated ceramics and effigy vessels. Whereas exam- pounds present in tattoos.
ples of comparison among pottery decoration and tattoo motifs are According to the scientific literature reviewed by Poon et al.
reported in [3,27]. [14], the composition of pigments varies greatly over time and cul-
In our case, concerning the cheeks tattoos, it is possible to af- tures. The most commonly used material was charcoal in different
firm that the thickness of the stroke on the left cheek is very simi- forms, such as soot, coal or lampblack, but it is also known that
lar to those located on the right one. Moreover, the marks on both other materials were used to make tattoos, such as fungi, natu-
sides have similar opacity when irradiated by infrared rays. These ral extracts from plants or animals, and inorganic materials such
evidences suggest the presence of a symmetrical series of lines- iron or manganese oxides and classical pigments such as cinnabar
like on both sides of the face (both symmetrical and asymmetrical or orpiment [69]. Pabst and collaborators [18,19] have identified
forms of tattoos have been found on Andean mummies). the prevalence of organic pigments in the staining particles using
Only Arriaza [23] reports a case on a mummy of the Maitas electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. A more recent study
Chribayas phase from Arica (Northern Chile), which also has a tat- has associated a strong signature of tattoos detected by IR Re-
too on the left cheek, but with two X-shaped marks. A ceramic flectography to the presence of a carbon-based pigment, probably
statuette from the same region also shows drawings on the cheeks: soot [3]. Another recent study [11] has ascribed the non-detection,
four strokes on both sides, each arranged in two horizontal lines. through SEM images, of iron-oxides or manganese-oxides on tat-
It is possible to state that the three detected lines of tattooing tooing artefacts tips, to the use of a carbon black pigment: authors
are relatively unique: in general, skin marks on the face are rare report that, only in some instances, the pigment used for tattoo-
among the groups of the ancient Andean region and even rarer on ing presented inorganic black and red earth pigments. The bluish-
the cheeks. black inks used for tattooing the Lady of Cao (a mummy belong-
Regarding the right-hand wrist mark, as said before, the pres- ing to a female elite person of the Moche culture) were chemi-
ence of tattoos in the forearms and wrists of Peruvian mummies is cally identified as ferrous oxide (FeO) by Vásquez and collabora-
not uncommon as can be seen in the work conducted by authors tors [20]. Among literature on South American tattoos, also other
such as Vreeland [61] who documented tattoo marks in the right studies reported the chemical-physical identification of soot with
hand of a Late Intermediate Period mummy (ca. 10 0 0 CE), and an- small amounts of Fe, Cu, Si from Paracas culture tattoos [22] and a
other Late Horizon mummy (ca. 1460 CE) that showed an elabo- carbon-based substance with HgS, probably coming from the mor-
rate wrist design; Allison et al. [62] documented extensive tattoos tuary treatment, from a Ychsma culture tattoo [26].
in the forearms of a mummy from the Casma Valley; Ubbelohde To the best of our knowledge, only Vásquez and collaborators
Doering [63] documented extensive and complex tattooed designs [20] chemically identified the use of inorganic pigments (ferrous

568
G. Mangiapane, E. Di Francia, R. Gerst et al. Journal of Cultural Heritage 73 (2025) 561–570

oxide) for tattooing in South America. However, in this case, the tance of performing compositional analyses on tattoos’ pigments.
tattoos are more complex and they are made with bluish-black At the same time, it corroborates the role of museum collection in
colour. the analysis of ancient culture.
To conclude, even if several studied reported in literature
(Table 1) suggested the use of a carbon-based pigment (e.g. soot) if Acknowledgement
the tattoo absorbs IR radiation, in this case it is important to point
out that, through the chemical-physical characterisations, black We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Director
particles from the tattoos did not indicate the presence of charcoal. of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (University of
The intentional use of only charcoal pigments, which are the most Turin), Professor Cecilia Pennacini, for granting us access to the
commonly used materials according to the literature [18,19,40], can anthropological remains. Additionally, we would like to thank Dr
be ruled out in this case: more likely, it was used a mix of iron Michael W. Dee (Centre for Isotope Research Faculty of Science and
compounds with a small amount of carbon-based materials, possi- Engineering University of Groningen Nijenborgh - The Netherlands)
bly not intentionally added (e.g. due to pigment preparation pro- for dating, and Professor Giorgio Gatti (Università degli Studi del
cedures). Piemonte Orientale, Dipartimento per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile e la
Transizione Ecologica) for performing SEM-EDX analysis.
6. Conclusion This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Tattooing was a widely distributed cultural practice and seems
to have been very persistent from the past to the present, even if Supplementary materials
archaeological findings often lack well-preserved soft tissues and
of tattooed skin, consequently. Hence, ancient tattooed mummified Supplementary material associated with this article can be
tissues are crucial for enhancing our understanding of these prac- found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.culher.2025.04.013.
tices in past cultures.
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