One of the earliest tools for tattooing human skin has been discovered in America and dates back 2,000 years.
A primitive tool made of a skunkbush handle and penetrating cactus-spines is believed to have been used to embed pigment under the skin.
It was discovered in storage for more than 40 years with its true purpose previously unknown.
The discovery sheds light on the mysterious ancestral Pueblo people that lived in modern-day Utah. - where the pen-sized body art instrument was found.
Little is known about this community and its culture and experts say the breakthrough could help unpick the traits of the extinct society.
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A primitive tool made from a skunkbush handle and with a penetrating cactus-spine to put pigment under the skin (pictured)
Andrew Gillreath-Brown, an anthropology PhD candidate at Washington State University, saw the instrument for the first time while taking an inventory of archaeological materials.
His discovery pushes back the earliest evidence of tattooing in western North America by more than 1,000 years.
The scientist also claims it provides a rare glimpse into the lives of a prehistoric society whose customs and culture have largely been forgotten.
Study lead author Mr Gillreath-Brown, said: 'Tattooing by prehistoric people in the South West is not talked about much because there has not ever been any direct evidence to substantiate it.
'This tattoo tool provides us information about past South Western culture we did not know before.'
Tattooing is common among many indigenous cultures worldwide but its origins are a widespread mystery.
In the south western United States, no tattoos have been identified on preserved human remains, and there are no ancient written accounts of the practice.
Archaeologists have instead relied on visual depictions in ancient artwork and the identification of tattooing tools to trace the origins of the practice.
Cactus spine tattoo tools from Arizona and New Mexico previously provided the best archaeological examples of early tattooing in the region. The earliest of these were dated to between 1100 and 1280AD.
The pen-sized tool was discovered in storage after sitting unappreciated for more than 40 years. It sheds light on the ancestral Pueblo people living in modern-day Utah and little is known about the communities and culture
Study lead author Mr Gillreath-Brown, said: 'Tattooing by prehistoric people in the South West is not talked about much because there has not ever been any direct evidence to substantiate it
Mr Gillreath-Brown says his discovery is 1,000 years younger.
He said: 'When I first pulled it out of the museum box and realised what it might have been I got really excited.'
The tool consists of a 3.5 inch wooden skunkbush sumac handle bound at the end with split yucca leaves holding two parallel cactus spines, stained black at their tips.
Mr Gillreath-Brown said: 'The residue staining from tattoo pigments on the tip was what immediately piqued my interest as being possibly a tattoo tool.'
He analysed the tips with a scanning electron microscope, X-ray florescence and energy dispersive ray spectroscopy. He also did several test tattoos using a replica on pig skin.
The crystalline structure of the pigment determined it likely contained carbon, a common element in body painting and tattooing.
Mr Gillreath-Brown added: 'The find has a great significance for understanding how people managed relationships and how status may have been marked on people in the past during a time when population densities were increasing in the South West.'
The findings were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
WHAT ARE THE OLDEST TATTOOS IN THE WORLD?
Since his discovery on 19 December 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi (artist's impression) has provided window into early human history.
Since his discovery on 19 December 1991 by German hikers, Ötzi has provided a window into early human history.
His mummified remains were uncovered in melting glacier in the mountainous border between Austria and Italy.
Analysis of the body has told us that he was alive during the Copper Age and died a grisly death.
Ötzi, who was 46 at the time of his death, had brown eyes, relatives in Sardinia, and was lactose intolerant.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi's body using different wavelengths of light to pick them out on the mummy's darkened skin.
And in December 2015 they were confirmed to be the world's oldest - beating markings on an unidentified South American Chinchorro mummy.
Experts had thought the South American mummy with a moustache-like tattoo on its face died in around 4,000BC, before realising it's younger than Ötzi, who was killed in around 3250 BC.
While researchers can't be sure why Ötzi had the tattoos, many think that they served as a form of acupuncture.
'We know that they were real tattoos,' Albert Zink, head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Bolzano, Italy told LiveScience.
The ancient tattoo artist who applied them 'made the incisions into the skin, and then they put in charcoal mixed with some herbs.'
The tattoos, mostly found on Ötzi's lower back and legs, between the knee and food, may have been a way to relieve the effects of chronic pain or injuries.
Experts discovered a total of 61 tattoos on Ötzi's body using different wavelengths of light to pick them out on the mummy's darkened skin and in December 2015 they were confirmed to be the world's oldest
Ötzi was thought to have done a lot of walking in the Alps, which could have resulted in joint pain in his knees and ankles.
The 61st tattoo, found on the ribcage, has puzzled researchers who suggest Ötzi may also suffered from chest pain.
If the tattoos were not for therapeutic benefit, the researchers say they could have had symbolic or religious significance.
Alternatively, they may simply be geometric shapes with no hidden meaning.
In March, 2018, figurative tattoos were been discovered on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies at the British Museum.
Experts said that these were the world's earliest figurative tattoos.
The tattoos are of a wild bull and a Barbary sheep on the upper-arm of a male mummy, and S-shaped motifs on the upper-arm and shoulder of a female.
The find dates tattoos containing imagery rather than geometric patterns to 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Researchers said the discovery 'transforms' our understanding of how people lived during this period.
https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/28/is-this-evidence-of-the-worlds-first-tattoo-parlour/
Main photo article One of the earliest tools for tattooing human skin has been discovered in America and dates back 2,000 years.
A primitive tool made of a skunkbush handle and penetrating cactus-spines is believed to have been used to embed pigment under the skin.
It was discovered in storage for more than 40 y...
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