The first tattooed female is “Gebelein Woman”, whose mummified remains date to 3351 to 3017 BC and have linear and S-shaped motifs tattooed upon the upper arm and shoulder. She is one of six naturally mummified bodies discovered in the late-19th century near the Egyptian town of Gebelein (today, Naga el-Gherira). Scientists used infrared technology to identify tattoos on two of them. “Gebelein Man A” bears the designs of a wild bull and a sheep; the S-shaped tattoos on “Gebelein Woman” mirror motifs found on the pottery of the period, while the L-shaped tattoo could represent a baton or crooked stave – a status symbol in Predynastic Egypt. The oldest tattoos can be found on the naturally mummified remains of Ötzi, who died around 5,300 years ago in the Italian Alps.
