The body of the famous 5300-year-old mummy Ötzi tattoo counted 61 who keep one secret ... Bashny.Net

In 1991 the Alps gave the world an unexpected discovery. It was there that September 19 the body was found, which is now considered the oldest mummy in Europe. Scientists have named it Ötzi, the place of discovery. Ötzi lived more than five thousand years ago, and to this day his body remained intact thanks to the ice, in which it was frozen in, along with clothing and equipment. This finding has become an invaluable gift to scientists who get the perfect opportunity to look back in time and in every possible detail to know how our ancestors lived a long time ago.

Research body ECR walked all the time. In 2011, scientists have figured in the genome of an ancient ancestor, finding out its similarity to the current residents of Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Years of research have shown that Ötzi at the time of death has knocked 45 years - a very advanced age for that time period. His body bears many traces of past tests and elderly - healed broken ribs and nose, like a cyst growth on the big toe, a large depreciation of the teeth and narrowed blood vessels. Ötzi died from a wound in the shoulder, the applied, apparently, an enemy arrow. The tip of it was left in his body.

Of special interest for the scientists were Ötzi tattoo. Previously it was thought that their on it about 50, but an exact count was impossible because of the changes in the color of his skin, caused by merciless time. Now the Italian experts have used borrowed from the world of art non-invasive imaging techniques, based on the capture of light waves of different lengths, from infrared to ultraviolet. Now well known - the body of the ancient Europeans posted 61 tattoo!



Most of these images represents crosses and straight lines, the latter are found in groups of 2-4 pieces in parallel. The length of some drawings up to four centimeters. Modern tattoos are applied using needles, but the ancient samples, apparently made by rubbing charcoal into small incisions in the skin. Scientists have isolated groups of 19 images on Ötzi's body. Special attention have caused the drawings to the left and right of the spine, on the outer and inner surface of the ankle in the left calf, right foot, right side of the ribs, under his right knee on his left wrist, and even the left Achilles tendon. Location of tattoos has led researchers to interesting speculation. Could it be that tattoos were not called upon to decorate and treated?



Figures were performed on the body of Ötzi medical, purely utilitarian, not a symbolic function. It is to this conclusion scientists. Locations tattoos in almost every case, the same as the body injuries received during the life of Ötzi. Joints and lower back, where Ötzi tattoo placed, ache a bit, and now people who have reached age, and even then, given the endless threat to the life of each and constant stress, wear and tear of the body was altogether monstrous rate. An ancient painkiller - that's what were all these crosses and lines for their support. This firmly believe modern scholars. Moreover, in many places covered with tattoos acupuncture points of the body, anticipating the Asian form of natural treatment, which became known and popular through many centuries after the death of Ötzi.

Painted savages? It turns out not quite so silly and were the ancestors. So much for the ancient knowledge of the Far East, the knowledge that Europe is practiced, is already thousands of years ago. It's amazing how much we do not know about the daily life of our ancestors, that they were doing and how to solve problems and what wisdom is stored. It may be that some of their lost knowledge would be useful to us! Share this amusing discovery with friends.

www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/tzi-5300-year-old-iceman-has-61-tattoos