Humans have marked their bodies with tatoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment. Joann Fletcher, research fellow in the department of archaeology at the università of York in Britain, describes the history of tatoos and their cultural significance to people around the world, from the famous " Iceman," a 5,200-year-old Frozen mummy, to today’s Maori.
What is the earliest evidence of tattoos?
In...
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