If tattoos are prone to fading within a single human lifetime, imagine the wear-and-tear on the tattoos of 1,200-year-old mummies.

Delicately detailed tattoos have been discovered etched onto the bodies of 1,200-year-old mummies uncovered in Peru. Although the passing of centuries has faded these once-living artworks, new research is uncovering the remarkable skill and complexity with which they were created.

A new study sheds light on tattoo designs found on more than 100 mummies from Chancay culture, a group that lived on the Peruvian coast between roughly 900 and 1500 C.E.

According to a Live Science report, paleobiologist Michael Pittman of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and his colleagues developed a new technique employing laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) to examine tattoos on more than 100 sets of mummified human remains from Peru’s Chancay culture.

Lasers are typically used to remove tattoos from the skin with mixed results. These tight beams of light can also reveal the ink that once decorated 1,200-year-old pieces of mummified skin. Using a newly developed laser technique,

Centuries-old mummified remains from pre-Hispanic South America demonstrate the widespread practice of tattooing. Tattoos

With a tool often used in the study of dinosaur fossils, scientists uncovered new details in ornate tattoos on the skin of members of the Chancay culture of Peru.