Ötzi the Iceman used surprisingly modern technique for his tattoos 5,300 years ago, study suggests
When you buy through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works . Ötzi the Iceman ’s many tattoos were made by " hand - poking " — a manual version of the tattooing technique usually used today — and not by abridge his skin as some researchers have suggested , harmonize to a new study . Ötzidied in Europe ’s Alps about 5,300 years ago , and his body remained mummified there for thousands of years until tourists discovered it in 1991 on a mountain pass near the border of Italy and Austria ....