Lasers reveal hidden patterns in tattoos of 1,200-year-old Peru mummies

A new laser-based technique has revealed the intricate details of tattoos on centuries-old mummies in Peru, archaeologists report in a new study. However, not everyone is convinced that the new technique is better than existing methods for analyzing historical tattoos.
In the study, published Monday (Jan. 13) in the journal PNAS, researchers looked at more than 100 mummified human remains from the Chancay culture, which inhabited Peru from about A.D. 900 to 1533. "Only 3 of these individuals were found to have high-detailed tattoos made up of fine lines only 0.1 - 0.2 mm [0.004 to 0.008 inch] thick, which could only be seen with our new technique," study co-author Michael Pittman, a paleobiologist at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, told Live Science in an email.