Bader1

Leah Bader

Dr. Tim Ryan

ANTH 401

22 April 2016

Evolutionary Theory of Body Ornamentation: The Fossil Evidence

Humans have been altering their body and skin, using both permanent and temporary

means for thousands of years, with judgments and perceptions of these alterations changing

depending on the cultural context and the time period in which they are observed. Despite the

pain, difficultness, and the sometimes high cost of obtaining these different modes of body

ornamentation, humans seem to have an innate desire to want to alter the surface of their skin,

whether as a manner of fashion, self expression, status, or group identity. Even in prehistoric

times, humans would use natural pigments to decorate themselves and in some equatorial

climates, this practice would predate even the manufacturing and wearing of clothing (Isaacs,

2012). What drives this desire to alter the bodys physical state? Fashion and self-expression

could be cited as contemporary motivations, but these practices had to serve a practical purpose

in order to endure several centuries of different societies and cultures. While written records of

rudimentary tattoos, various piercings, and other alterations are available for more recent

civilizations, there is a small portion of fossil evidence to suggest that body ornamentation has

had a role in societies since before written history with its purpose evolving over time with

culture.

Humans are mainly visual animals; meaning most of the information that we collect and

perceive is through our visual field. Being able to make fast assessments about individuals

visually is one of the main arguments for the development of altering our skins appearance
 Bader2

(Larkin, 2004). In both modern and ancient societies, first impressions leave lasting impressions

and skin adornment could play a major role in the way an individual is perceived and seen in

other peoples eyes. Other factors play into this as well, such as clothing or valuable items like

jewelry, but all are seen as symbols representing the person wearing them and therefore carry

huge significance both to the person displaying them and to the person comprehending them

(Sterelny, 2012). Social signaling, or communication between individuals, particularly of the

same species, is a driving force for sexual selection. Being so visually oriented, appearance plays

a large role in human mate selection. While most species utilize the color or pattern of their fur

or feathers as a social signal in pursuit of a mate, humans bare skin does not allow for this and

body ornamentation with tattoos, piercings, and jewelry could have been an attempt to

compensate for this (Jablonski, 2010). Some of the ideas that can be grasped from body

ornamentation are an individuals identity, the affinity to a specific group or belief, social status,

and sexual desirability. Almost all of these reasons can probably help explain the use of skin

ornamentation early in human history, particularly the idea that permanent markings would

express a group identification that was indelible and could not be removed, making it impossible

for the agent to defect from one group to another (Sterelny, 2012).

These functional skin adornments are still utilized in some tribal societies, particularly

those in Africa. Though African tribes mostly use scarification because it appears more

noticeable than tattooing would on their dark skin, the reasons behind the markings are much

similar to those from early human history (Cronin, 2014). Particular marks denote particular

tribes and small children can often be seen wandering around a village with fresh scars on their

faces to indicate their tribal association, an ascribed status that will be with them throughout life

and can not be changed without great difficulty. While modern technology has made these
 Bader3

modifications much easier to come by, modern hunter-gatherer societies and tribes are more

likely to use more traditional, outdated, and primitive methods of cutting and then adding

pigment, causing excessive pain and making an individual vulnerable to infection (Isaacs, 2012).

Tattooing has been suggested as the earliest form of irreversible body adornment with

written records dating them back to at least fifth-century B.C. in Greece and possibly centuries

earlier in China (Deter-Wolf et. al., 2016). The first written reference to the word tattoo, which

is now considered to be any permanent ink marking on skin, was derived from the Samoan word

tatau and can be found in the logbook of Joseph Banks, the botanist and naturalist of the HMS

Endeavor crew with Captain Cook (Isaacs, 2012). Evidence for tattooing can also be found in art,

from ancient tattoo tools, and in the fossil record through preserved skin, which is the only direct

archaeological proof for body ornamentation (Deter-Wolf et. al., 2016). In the archaeological

record tattooing dates back to at least 6000 or 7000 years ago in Neolithic times (Isaacs, 2012).

The arguably most famous

fossil evidence for Neolithic tattooing

and now generally accepted as the

oldest can be found on the body of a

European Tyrolean Iceman

affectionately nicknamed tzi.

Thisgraphicshowsthegenerallocationofeachofthe61tattooson
theIcemansbody.(PhotographSouthTyrolMuseumof
Archeology/EURAC/Samadelli/Staschitz.)
Thisbraceletliketattooadornsthewristofthe5,300yearoldIceman,mostlylikelyitwasadministeredas
atreatmentfortherheumatismandjointdegenerationinhiswrist.(PhotographSouthTyrolMuseumof
Archaeology/EURAC/Samadelli/Staschitz)
 Bader4

Discovered buried beneath an alpine glacier along the Austrian-Italian border, tzi mostly likely

died around 3250 B.C. and his remains have evidence of at least 61 different tattoos in various

areas across his body including on his lower legs, back, torso, and left wrist, which have been

suggested to be produced by puncturing the skin and pushing the soot into the puncture holes

(Isaacs, 2012). After intensive study for over two decades, a lot is known about tzi and his

physical context. His clothes and the tools he was found with have ben extensively dated using

carbon-14 dating, which revealed insights into tzis health, surrounding environment, death,

and his tattoos. Though tzi mostly likely died from exsanguination due to an arrow wound to

his shoulder, aged at about 45, tzis body was plagued with evidence for rheumatism and joint

and spinal degeneration. The tattoos on tzis body were mostly likely therapeutic tattoos 80%

of them are grouped in areas associated with classical acupuncture points used to treat arthritis

and rheumatism, while others are located near acupuncture meridians. While tzi is currently the

oldest fossil evidence for tattooing, the therapeutic function of his tattoos are representative of

social practices that predate him and the field of archaeology is hopeful that with new

technology, future finds could lead to older evidence of tattooing (Deter-Wolf et. al., 2016).

A South American mummy that also exemplifies evidence of tattooing was thought to

predate tzi until this year when the radiocarbon dating

was reexamined. Previously, many scholars were divided

over which mummy exhibited the oldest evidence for

tattooing tzi or a mummy from the Chinchorro culture

of South America believed to have died around 4000 B.C.

The Chinchorro mummy, recovered from El Morro,

Chile, displayed what seemed to be a tattoo that

Thisillustrationshowsthelocationoftattoos
onthefaceoftheChinchorromummy.(Image
courtesyLarsKrutak)
 Bader5

resembled a pencil-thin mustache comprised of dots on his upper lip. However, it was discovered

that when the radiocarbon dating of the Chinchorro mummy was first analyzed in the 1980s, the

actual dating range of 3830 100 B.P. was incorrectly recorded as 3830 100 B.C., which

pushed the mummys age back 4000 years earlier than the radiocarbon date indicated. While this

recent finding settled the debate that tzi is in fact at least 500 years older than the Chinchorro

mummy, claiming the title for oldest fossil evidence of tattooing, unlike tzi, the Chinchorro

mummy provides the first evidence of cosmetic tattooing, leaving the motivation for the tattoo

(status, tribal designation, decorative, etc.) unclear (Deter-Wolf et. al., 2016).

One of the most closely studied cultures for their tattooing practices is that of the Pazyryk

people of the Altai Mountains in Siberia. First in the 1940s, Soviet archaeologist Sergei Rudenko

excavated several

burial tombs and

uncovered the

mummified remains

of several Pazyryk

nomads, which had

been preserved in

the permafrost for

2500 years. One of

Reconstructionofawarrior'stattoos.MadebyElenaShumakova,Instituteof
these nomads was ArcheologyandEthnography,SiberianBranchofRussianAcademyofScience

covered in dark-blue tattoos depicting both recognizable and fantastical beasts some known

mythological creatures and others unknown, as well as therapeutic tattoos resembling tzis

along his spine, indicating use of acupuncture (Krutak, 1999). Half a century later in the 1990s,
 Bader6

Russian archaeologist Natalia Polosmak uncovered the remains of three bodies in the burial

grounds of the Ukok Plateau, also in the Altai Mountains close to the Russian borders with

Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. All of the bodies had evidence of similar zoomorphic tattoos,

but ear piercing is also evident in two of the bodies with a male having a pierced left ear and the

female having both ears pierced. The mummified older male, believed to be a Pazyryk chief, had

intricate cosmetic tattoos (a donkey, mountain ram, antlered deer, mythical beasts resembling

griffons, etc.). While tzi and the Chinchorro mummy may be much older fossil evidence for

tattooing, the Pazyryk mummies colorful designs are the most well-preserved and intricate

ancient tattoos to date, so complex and stunning they have inspired many people today to sport

the tattoos of the Pazyryk culture group (Rush, 2005).

The young woman that was discovered, often referred to as Princess Ukok though she

was more likely a healer or holy woman, had been given a ceremonial burial with six saddled

and bridled horses. The princess displays interconnected tattoos similar to the Pazyryk chiefs.

Many researchers now believe that the Pazyryk people used these complex tattoos as a method to

define an individuals place in society and as personal identification. This would align with the

evidence as the chief and the holy woman exhibit a lot more tattoos with much more complexity

than the young

warrior they were

discovered with

who possesses

only a single

depiction of an elk

on his left

PrincessUkok'sshoulder,tattoooffantasticanimal,andadrawingofitmadeby
Siberianscientists
 Bader7

shoulder. On the holy womans left shoulder a fantastical stag with a griffons beak is depicted,

while another deers head is located on her wrist. Also present is the mouth of a spotted panther

at the legs of a sheep, a non-descript animal on her thumb, as well as other images that dot both

the princesses arms, indicating age and status. These permanent markings were also believed

to pass on with the persons spirit to act as a passport after death it would make an individual

more distinguishable, making it easier for families and culture groups to find each other after

death (Rush, 2005).

Whendiscussingtheevolutionoftattoosandthefossilevidenceforbodyornamentation,

itisimportanttomentionAncientEgypt.Egyptisgenerallyacceptedtobethecradleoftattoo

artwithlotsoffossilevidenceduetotheirculturallytraditionalmummificationpractice,aswell

asthepresenceofstelesandawlsinthearchaeologicalrecordthatarethoughttohavebeenused

astattooinginstruments.Mostofthetattoosfound

havebeenonbodiesuncoveredfromEgyptand

Nubiaanddepictsimpleabstractdesigns.Bythe

emergenceoftheMiddleKingdom,tattoosseemto

havebecomeculturallyacceptable,butwithfar

morefemalemummiesexhibitingindeliblemarks

thanmale(Jablonski,2013).Themostfamousof

theEgyptianmummiesexhibitingtattooartisthat

Detailoftheabdominaltattoosvisibleona
DynastyXImummyofAmunet,redrawnby
ColetteStandish
ofAmunet,aHighPriestessofthegoddessHathor,
shealsoborethetitleKingsFavoriteOrnament.
DatingbacktoDynastyXI(21601994B.C.),her

bodywasfoundwiththebodiesoftwootherwomenbelievedtobeHathoricdancersinthecourt
 Bader8

ofKingMentuhotepII.Themummiesdisplayaremarkablysimilarpatternoflinesanddots

tattooedacrosstheirbodies.Severalothermummiesfromthisperiodshowsimilartattoo

patterns,aswellasornamentalscarificationacrossthelowerpartoftheirabdomens.Theseseries

ofdotsanddashesmayholdsignificanceinwhatwasperceivedastheprimalfemalepowerof

theuniversefertilityandmotherhood,whichcouldexplainwhymorefemalemummies

exhibittattoosthanmales.Theotherpopulartattoobesidesabstractpatternswasapictographof

Neith,amilitaristic,femaledeitythancouldhavebeentattooedonthethighsofwomenwho

boremultiplemales.LaterinEgyptshistory,tattoosbecomemorelikeart,depictingmore

compleximages.AtattooofthegodBesistheearliestknownEgyptiantattooofaspecific

image.Thegodofrevelryanddancing,Beswasmostlikelytattooedondancinggirlsand

musicians,ashisimageappearsonthethighsofdancersandmusiciansinmanyEgyptian

paintingsandseveralfemaleNubianmummieshavebeenfoundwithBestattoos.Whilethe

Pazyryksusedtattoosaspassportsafterdeath,thereislittleevidencetosuggestthatthiswas

themotivationfortattooinginEgypt,despitetheprolificbeliefinanafterlife.TattoosinAncient

Egyptmostlikelyheldsomekindofreligiousmeaningorsignificanceandtheartcouldhave

beenpracticeforseveralreasonstoconnectwiththedivine,asatributeoractofsacrificetoa

deity,asatalismanorpermanentamulet,and/ortoprovidedivineprotection(Tassie,2003).

Whileallmethodsofbodyornamentationhaveancientorigins,thefossilevidencefor

scarificationandpiercingsareveryminimalcomparedtothefossilrecordfortattooing.Thereis

littlearchaeologicalevidenceforbodyornamentationduetothepracticebeingdoneinsofttissue

thatisoftennotpreservedexceptinspecializedcircumstanceslikeintheextremecoldthattzi

andthePazyrykpeoplewerediscoveredinorthedryconditionsaidedbymummification
 Bader9

processesliketheChinchorroandEgyptian/Nubianmummies.Despitethelackofphysical

bodilyevidence,thereareotherarchaeologicalartifactsliketattooinginstrumentsaswellasart

thatallowustoapproximatelydatetattooingpractices.However,itisbelievedthatbody

ornamentationisolderthancurrentdatingsuggestsandplayedanintegralroleasasocialsignal

inmanysocieties(DeterWolf2016).Whatkindofsocialsignaltattooingactsasdependsupon

theculturebeinganalyzed.Whetherutilizingbodyornamentationinsexualselection,asa

therapeutictreatment,asignalofstatusandage,anidentifierforagrouportribe,apassport

fortheafterlife,orforavarietyofreligiousreasons,tattoosandotherbodymodificationswere

prevalentinseveralancientculturesandconsideredtobeofgreatsignificance.
 Bader10

LiteratureList

CroninTA,Jr.2001.Tattoos,Piercings,andSkinAdornments.DermatologyNursing13.5:380

383.

IsaacsD.2012.Tattoos.JournalofPaediatricsandChildHealth48:10511052.

JablonskiN.2010.TheNakedTruth:WhyHumansHaveNoFur.ScientificAmerican302:42

49.

JablonskiN.2013.Skin:ANaturalHistory.Berkeley,California:UniversityofCalifornia.p

143163.

KrutakL.1999.St.LawrenceIslandJointTattooing:Spiritual/MedicinalFunctionsand

IntercontinentalPossibilities.InuitStudies23:229252.

LarkinB.2004.TheInsandOutsofBodyPiercing.AornJounal79:343346.

RushJ.2005.SpiritualTattoo:ACulturalHistoryofTattooing,Piercing,Scarification,

Branding,andImplants.Berkeley,California:FrogLtd.p2736.

SterelnyK.TheEvolvedApprentice:HowEvolutionMadeHumansUnique.Cambridge,

Massachusetts:MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.p125151.

TassieGJ.2003.IdentifyingthePracticeofTattooinginAncientEgyptandNubia.Papersfrom

theInstituteofArchaeology14:85101.

DeterWolfA,BenotR,KrutakL,GalliotS.2016.TheWorldsOldestTattoos.Journalof

ArchaeologicalScience:Reports5:1924.