Lasers Expose Stunning Tattoo Art on 1,200-Year-Old Peruvian Mummies

The ancient designs, found on pre-Columbian mummies from Peru, give modern tattoos a run for their money.

January 18, 2025 · 1 min · 74 words · Seth Edwards

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Their findings reveal a higher level of artistic skill in pre-Columbian Peru than previously thought.

Now recognized for their textiles, they were ultimately absorbed into the Incan Empire.

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Ancient Peruvian tattoos photographed under white light, in infrared images, or in LSF images to highlight the additional details visible in the latter.

Ancient Peruvian tattoos photographed under white light, in infrared images, or in LSF images to highlight the additional details visible in the latter.© Kaye et al., PNAS (2025)

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Tattoo

A 3D image and original fossil of a Homo aff. erectus individual found at Sima del Elefante.

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The Lagar Velho shelter in the Lapedo Valley.

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a guided tour of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts before leading a board meeting on March 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.