Do you Hathor tattoos?
Ancient Egyptian males as well as a females had tattoos, it has been discovered. Only women tattooed skeletons or mummies had previously been found.
Were both this man and woman priests or servants of Egypt's bizarre god Hathor and its priesthood that also had priestesses?
Researchers have discovered the oldest figurative tattoos in the world on two 5,000-year-old mummies from Egypt ...
The illustrations are of a wild bull and a Barbary sheep on the upper-arm of a male mummy, and S-shaped motifs on the upper-arm and shoulder of a female. The discovery pushes back evidence for the practice in Africa by 1,000 years ...
Dark smudges on his arm were thought to be unimportant until infrared scans revealed that they were tattoos of two slightly overlapping horned animals. One is interpreted to be a wild bull with a long tail and elaborate horns; the other appears to be a Barbary sheep with curving horns and a humped shoulder.
The female mummy has four small S-shaped motifs running down her right shoulder. She also has a motif that is thought to represent batons used in ritual dance.
The designs are under the skin and the pigment is probably soot. Previously, archaeologists had thought only women wore tattoos in the ancient past, but the discovery of tattoos on the male mummy now shows body modification concerned both sexes.
'Oldest tattoo' found on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies | BBC
Male and female Egyptian tattoos
These old Egypt tattoo 'mummies' it seems were not ritually preserved by mummification, might be examples of non royalty people? They may have also been connected to the Temple of Hathor at Gebelein.
Egypt's Hathor goddess appears to be the only priesthood/worship that allowed both male and female priests and servants. Are these shallow grave bodies two cow goddess artisans?
The mummies were found in Gebelein in the southern part of Upper Egypt, around 40km south of modern-day Luxor. The individuals were buried in shallow graves without any special preparation, but their bodies were naturally preserved by the heat, salinity and aridity of the desert.
'Oldest tattoo' found on 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies | BBC
The site includes the remains from a temple to Hathor with a number of cartouches on mud bricks and a royal stela from the Second to Third Dynasties.
Temple of Hathor - Gebelein | wikipedia
A woman in Hathor cults could even be priestess in more than one temple, and positions in the temple hierarchy were not inherited.
Women in Ancient Egyptian Religion In Old-New Kingdoms, Part I | Tour Egypt
