It is quite an interesting fact to know that tattooing was very much in use even in the prehistoric ages. And people from many cultures would wear them for various reasons. We come to know more about these facts from different mummified bodies which were discovered in the recent years. Tattoo was quite prevalent even in those early times and some of researches show that these tattoos were being drawn on parts of body for therapeutic measures. Treatments of rheumatism or arthritis were being performed through these tattoos. But researches also show that the prehistoric tattoos were being impressed on the body for spiritual reasons too.
The first mummy with prehistoric tattoos all over his body was called the Otzi, the Iceman. This mummy dates back to the 3300BC. And thus historians have derived to the conclusion that tattoos were a Eurasian practice in the Neolithic age. Otzi the Iceman bore 57 tattoos altogether in different parts his body. These tattoos were drawn mostly for therapeutic purposes. There were several small lines drawn on the legs and ankles of the Iceman.
Other mummified bodies which were found in the Steppes bore tattoos which dated back to 7000 years. Quite a few mummies were excavated out in the Tarim Basin in West China. All these mummies bore different kind of prehistoric tattoos. Historians have also revealed that these mummies had a western physical form. Some mummies were excavated in the later half of the twentieth century from the permafrost soil of the Altai. These mummies date back to 300BC. There were three mummies, one female and two males. There mummies had elaborate tattoos of various animals. The designs of the animals were beings drawn in a curvilinear way to make it more fascinating.
One of the male mummies from Russia was discovered to be the Pazyryk man, the Scythian chief. The man had extensive tattoos all over the body ranging from different kinds of animals as well as monsters. Tattoos from different ages always had some intriguing facts to tell. The prehistoric tattoos have helped historians immensely in the research on the Neolithic ages.