11/19/2025
Hey friends!
Long time, no talk.
I’ve been out of a studio for a bit but in the meantime I have been taking this time to study the history of tattooing and practice my art skills. Kind of like restarting my tattoo career from the ground up but learning it ALL this time.
My first historical pit-stop has been Ötzi the Iceman and I wanted to share a little about him with you!
Ötzi’s body was accidentally founded in 1991 but he was much older than believed. Due to the cold climate he was found in, his mummified body was so well preserved that when studied, they discovered he was from the Copper Age! That is older than the Egyptian Pyramids!
Why is his body significant to the history of tattooing? Ötzi is one of the earliest known humans with tattoos! 61 of them to be exact and they weren’t the same as the tattoos we know today. Instead of using a needle, these 61 tattoos were created by cutting small incisions and then rubbing pulverized charcoal into the incisions to make the “tattoo”. So wild!
Interesting stuff huh? I thought so too!
If you want to check out Ötzi’s story or start at the beginning of tattoo history with me, click the link below.
I’ll keep sharing important figures in tattoo time and other fun historical facts.
Until next time 🤍
Ötzi, the glacier mummy, is displayed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy together with his clothing and equipment.