Original:
TATTOING
It is hard to determine how far back the art of tattooing goes, as human flesh is almost never preserved in the archaelogical record. But rare finds of human corpses with the skin intact, has inabled us to glimpse early examples of the tattooists art.
The remarkable “Iceman” found melting out of the Similaun glacier, in Italy, in
September 1991, having died there some 5,3000 years ago, was marked with the oldest tattooes ever seen. Consisting of three sets of lines on his back, another group on the right ankle and a cross on the left knee, the powdered charcoal used to create the blue markings was probly applied with small needles.
From Egypt and Sudan there are occasional finds of female mummies with facial tattoos going back some four thousand years. It seems like these had some erotic significance, since the mummies are thought to be those of concubines, and some centuries later dancers and musicians would sport tattoos of there patron god, Bes, on their thighs. The tattoos found on the mummies were dark blue and were applied archaeologists believe by pricking dye into the skin with a devise made of fish bones, set into a wooden handle.
In 1948 the most remarkable example of ancient tattooing yet found was discovered in the Pazyryk burial mound on the boarders of the USSR, China, and
Mongolia. A man aged about sixty, probably the chief of the nomadic tribe, had been buried around 400 B.C. in a felt-lined wooden chamber under the mound. Then came the grave robbers. Ransacking the tomb, ice flowed in through their exit hole or fill the chamber; thereby miraculously preserving its contents. The surviving skin of the chief was covered with elaborate tattoos, including monsters, a donkey, a mountain ram, deer, birds, a goat, and a fish.

Version 2: Light copyediting for grammatical issues
TATTOOING
It is hard to determine how far back the art of tattooing goes, as human flesh is almost never preserved in the archaeological record. But rare finds of human corpses with the skin intact have enabled us to glimpse early examples of the tattooists’ art. The remarkable “Iceman” found melting out of the Similaun glacier in
Italy in September 1991, having died there some 5,3000 years ago, was marked with the oldest tattoos ever seen. Consisting of three sets of lines on his back, another group on the right ankle, and a cross on the left knee, the powdered charcoal used to create the blue markings was probably applied with small needles.
From Egypt and Sudan there are occasional finds of female mummies with facial tattoos going back some four thousand years. It seems like these had some erotic significance, since the mummies are thought to be those of concubines, and some centuries later dancers and musicians would sport tattoos of their patron god, Bes, on their thighs. The tattoos found on the mummies were dark blue and were applied, archaeologists believe, by pricking dye into the skin with a device made of fish bones set into a wooden handle.
In 1948, the most remarkable example of ancient tattooing yet found was discovered in the Pazyryk burial mound on the borders of the U.S.S.R., China, and
Mongolia. A man aged about sixty, probably the chief of the nomadic tribe, had been buried around 400
BC
in a felt-lined wooden chamber under the mound. Then came the grave robbers. As they were ransacking the tomb, ice flowed in through their exit hole and filled the chamber, thereby miraculously preserving its contents. The surviving skin of the chief was covered with elaborate tattoos, including monsters, a donkey, a mountain ram, deer, birds, a goat, and a fish.

Version 3: Medium copyediting and fact-checking
Tattooing
It is difficult to determine how old the art of tattooing is because human flesh is almost never preserved in the archaeological record. However, rare finds of human corpses with intact skin have enabled us to glimpse examples of early tattooists’ art.
One such find was the “Iceman,” who was found in the melting Similaun Glacier on the border of Austria and Italy in September 1991, having died there some 5,3000 years ago. This remarkable body was marked with the oldest tattoos ever seen.
Consisting of three sets of lines on his back, another group on his right ankle, and a cross on his left knee, the blue markings were created with powdered charcoal that was probably applied with small needles.
In Egypt and Sudan, there have been occasional finds of female mummies that are around four thousand years old and have facial tattoos. These tattoos may have had some erotic significance, because their owners are thought to have been concubines.
Some centuries later, dancers and musicians would sport tattoos of their patron god,
Bes, on their thighs. These tattoos were dark blue, and archaeologists believe they were applied by pricking dye into the skin with a device made of fish bones set into a wooden handle.
In 1948, the most remarkable example of ancient tattooing yet found was discovered in one of the Pazyryk burial mounds on the borders of China, Mongolia, and what was then the U.S.S.R. A man, probably the chief of the nomadic tribe, had died around age sixty and been buried in a wooden, felt-lined chamber under the mound around 400 B.C. Grave robbers eventually visited the tomb, and as they were ransacking it, melted ice flowed in through their exit hole and filled the chamber, miraculously preserving its contents. Among those objects was the skin of the dead chief, which was covered with elaborate tattoos including monsters, a donkey, a mountain ram, deer, birds, a goat, and a fish.

Version 4: Heavy copyediting with some rewriting for clarity and coherence
Tattooing
While the rarity of preserved human flesh makes it difficult to determine how old the art of tattooing is, occasional discoveries of human corpses with intact skin have enabled us to glimpse examples of early tattooists’ art. One such find was the
“Iceman,” who was found in the melting Similaun Glacier on the border of Austria and Italy in September 1991, having died there some 5,3000 years ago. The remarkable Iceman find yielded the oldest tattoos ever seen by modern archaeologists. Consisting of three sets of lines on his back, another group on his right ankle, and a cross on his left knee, the blue markings were created with powdered charcoal that was probably applied with small needles.
Other important mummies have been found in Egypt and Sudan, including some four-thousand-year-old female mummies with facial tattoos. The supposed social status of these women—concubines— suggest that their tattoos may have had some erotic significance. The tattoos found on these mummies were dark blue, like
Iceman’s, and archaeologists believe they were applied by pricking dye into the skin with a device made of fish bones set into a wooden handle.
In 1948, the most remarkable example of ancient tattooing yet found was discovered in one of the Pazyryk burial mounds, located on the borders of China,
Mongolia, and what was then the U.S.S.R. Around 400 B.C., a man who had probably been the chief of a nomadic tribe had been buried in a wooden, felt-lined chamber within the burial mound there. Eventually, grave robbers visited the tomb, but as they were ransacking it, melted ice flowed in through their exit hole and filled the chamber. This catastrophous event sealed the grave robbers in the tomb along with their victim, and miraculously preserved the contents of the mound. Among those objects was the skin of the dead chief, which was covered with elaborate tattoos including monsters, a donkey, a mountain ram, deer, birds, a goat, and a fish.

Version 5: Final heavily edited version
Tattooing
While the rarity of preserved human flesh makes it difficult to determine how old the art of tattooing is, occasional discoveries of human corpses with intact skin have enabled us to glimpse examples of early tattooists’ art. One such find was the remarkable “Iceman,” who was found in Italy’s melting Similaun Glacier in September
1991 after dying there some 5,3000 years ago. The Iceman find yielded the oldest tattoos ever seen by modern archaeologists. Consisting of three sets of lines on his back, another group on his right ankle, and a cross on his left knee, the blue markings were created with powdered charcoal that was probably applied with small needles.
Other important mummies have been found in Egypt and Sudan, such as the fourthousand-year-old female mummies that have facial tattoos. The supposed social status of these women—concubine— suggest that their tattoos may have had some erotic significance. The tattoos were dark blue, like Iceman’s, and archaeologists believe they were applied by pricking dye into the skin with a device made of fish bones set into a wooden handle.
In 1948, the most remarkable example of ancient tattooing yet found was discovered in the Pazyryk burial mound, located on the borders of China, Mongolia, and what was then the U.S.S.R. Around 400 B.C., a man who had probably been the chief of a nomadic tribe had been buried in a wooden, felt-lined chamber within the burial mound there. Eventually, grave robbers visited the tomb, but as they were ransacking it, melted ice flowed in through their exit hole and filled the chamber. This catastrophic event sealed the grave robbers in the tomb along with their victim, and miraculously preserved the contents of the mound. Among those objects was the skin of the dead chief, which was covered with elaborate tattoos including monsters, a donkey, a mountain ram, deer, birds, a goat, and a fish.