Around the World January 1, 2011
PERU: Some of the tattoos on a 1,000-year-old female Chiribayan mummy might have been more than decoration. In addition to designs on her limbs, she had 12 overlapping rings tattooed on her nape. While most of the markings were made with straight carbon soot, the ones on the neck were done with partially burned plant matter. That and the fact that the neck designs are close to acupuncture points suggest they might have been applied to relieve muscle or nerve pain.
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