2,700-year-old tattoo kit found in Tonga the world’s oldest, say Australian researchers
- The kit was excavated by archaeologists in 1963, and included four narrow combs and an ink pot
- The scientists say the ancient tools “continue to be used today”
A traditional tattooing kit discovered in Tonga some 50 years ago has been verified with radiocarbon dating to be the oldest known in the world, said scientists in Australia.
Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and Griffith University, the first to closely study the artefacts, said the kit dates back 2,700 years, making it the oldest to be found anywhere in the world.
The group also discovered that some of the intricate, comb-shaped tools were likely made from human bones.
Geoffrey Clark, an associate professor at the ANU, said bone tattoo combs are a “very specific type of technology found across Oceania”.
“This discovery pushes back the date of Polynesian tattooing right back to the beginnings of Polynesian cultures around 2,700 years ago,” he said in a statement.
The tattooing kit was excavated by Australian archaeologists in 1963 and included four narrow combs and an ink pot, which has since been lost.
Two of the four combs were made from the bones of a large seabird, while the other two are made from the bones of a large mammal, most likely human.
