South Pacific Islanders may have used obsidian 3,000 years ago to make tattoos
Monday, July 11, 2016 - 08:01
in Paleontology & Archaeology
(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers has found evidence of obsidian tools being crafted for use in creating tattoos approximately 3,000 years ago by South Pacific Islanders. In their paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Nina Kononenko and Robin Torrence with the University of Sydney and Peter Sheppard with the University of Auckland, all in Australia, describe experiments they conducted using cut obsidian to create tattoos on pig skin. They reported what they found, and why they believe prehistoric people used a variety of techniques to create tattoos.
