Unravelling the mystery of the world's oldest tattoos: Ötzi the iceman applied his own ink using a hand-poking technique 5,300 years ago, study finds

He died more than 5,000 years ago, shot in the back with an arrow by a mysterious assailant in the frosty Alps. 

But Ötzi the iceman, Europe's oldest mummy, is continuing to reveal secrets today, thanks to the numerous tattoos over his shriveled body. 

Despite the fact he lived between 3350 and 3105 BC, scientists in Tennessee claim to have cracked the mystery of how these tattoos were made.

They say the tattoos were likely created by Ötzi himself using a technique known as 'hand poking', where a sharp handheld implement repeatedly stabbed at the skin. 

One of the experts tattooed himself using multiple ancient techniques to find out which one resulted in markings most similar to the iceman's. 

Ötzi the Iceman is the natural mummy of a man who lived between 3350 and 3105 BC. Ötzi's remains were discovered on September 19, 1991, in the Ötztal Alps

Ötzi presents some of the earliest direct evidence of tattooing in the human past, they say in their new study, published in the European Journal of Archaeology. 

The ancient male had a total of 61 tattoos, consisting of 19 groups of black lines, mostly less than an inch in length. 

Despite decades of study, until now, it has been unclear how the iceman's tattoos were created and what tools and methods were used. 

Popular discussions describe his tattoos as having been made by 'incision technique', which involves first cutting the skin and then rubbing in plant-based pigment. 

But researchers at the Tennessee Division of Archaeology (TDOA) now bring this into question, instead claiming that a 'hand-poking' technique was used.

This is where the sharp implement is dipped in the tattoo ink and then poked into the skin dot by dot.  

'One early discussion of the iceman's marks proposed that they weren't traditional tattoos, but instead places where plant matter had been packed into incised wounds and then set on fire,' TDOA archaeologist Aaron Deter-Wolf told ScienceAlert.

'There's absolutely no proof of that, and over time the bit about fire got left behind, but the idea of their being incised persisted. 

Reproduction of Oetzi the Similaun Man in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy

The mummified, 5,300-year-old corpse was found by hikers in 1991, melting out of the ice in the Alps, some 10,532 feet (3,210 metres) above sea level

The experts tattooed themselves using multiple ancient techniques to find out which one resulted in markings most similar to the iceman's

READ MORE: Ötzi the iceman used ACUPUNCTURE

Ötzi may have benefited from a form of prehistoric healthcare

'Most of the archaeologists who have discussed Ötzi's tattoos in recent years are upfront that we don't know how they were made – but the idea still appears in just about every popular media discussion.' 

Deter-Wolf worked with tattoo artist Danny Riday of the Temple Tattoo in New Zealand to reveal more about how Ötzi got his tattoos.

Using four different tattooing techniques, they replicated Ötzi's tattoos on Riday's leg, allowed them to heal, and then compared them to the ancient originals. 

'Every time a tattooing tool breaks the skin it makes a small wound, and all wounds have distinctive traits that depend on how they were created,' Deter-Wolf said. 

While the incision technique gives straight clean edges from the blade, the hand poking technique results in tiny overlapping circles or irregular shapes.

The team found that the incisions on the iceman most closely resembled the latter, and were likely made with a shape bone or copper awl, a small pointed tool. 

Using four different tattooing techniques, they replicated Ötzi's tattoos on Danny Riday's leg. allowed them to heal and then compared them to the ancient originals. Pictured, tattoos on Riday's leg the day they were made (left) and six months later (right)

Comparison of tattoos on Riday (A-F) to tattoos on Ötzi (G) suggested the 'hand poking' technique was used by the iceman 

Deter-Wolf told ScienceAlert that these types of artifacts appear in the archaeological record of the Ötzi Alps where his mummified body was found.

None have ever been identified as tattooing tools, but the team's new study may prompt archaeologists to reassess what they were used for. 

Ötzi's frozen body was found accompanied by his clothing, gear and an abundance of plant and fungi traces preserved on his clothing and in his gut.  

High in the Italian Alps 5,300 years ago, Ötzi the iceman was shot in the back with an arrow and likely bled to death within minutes.

On top of this discovery, the researchers found that Ötzi descended from early farmers who migrated from Anatolia. Pictured is an artist's impression of what experts think he looked like

Having collapsed in the ice, his body was then preserved until it was discovered in 1991, making him Europe's oldest mummy. 

Mystery and intrigue has followed ever since, including research into who might have killed him, and fresh secrets continue to be unlocked.

Last year, another team of scientists announced that Ötzi had dark skin, dark eyes and a balding head, not fair and hairy as previously thought. 

On top of this discovery, the researchers found that Ötzi descended from early farmers who migrated from Anatolia. 

A 2018 study of his remains concluded an arrow delivered a fatal blow to Ötzi by severing the nerve to his shoulder and hitting his major vessels.