These sharpened bird bones are the oldest tattooing tools ever discovered

Originally published at: These sharpened bird bones are the oldest tattooing tools ever discovered | Boing Boing

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Ouch, that hurts.

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Turkey bones are not for chickens.

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Heh- something similar happened with some ancient lissoirs found at a dig site. (link)

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Indications are that these tools were used to ink primitive tattoos of the word “mom” and a heart, which is especially impressive given that this civilization had not yet developed writing

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Hmmm. I smell a business opportunity…

Well, there are tattooists who still practice the old forms of tattooing in Japan, although it’s not openly, tattooing is frowned upon in Japanese society because of the Yakuza, and there are practitioners elsewhere in the world keeping the ancient ways alive, particularly Maori and Polynesian tattooists. Being hollow, there would be a reservoir of ink held inside the bone, very much like a modern tattoo gun.
I’ll print this article off and take it with me when I have a new tattoo done in a couple of weeks, I think they might be interested in this.

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