European Acupuncture 2000 Years before China?

European Acupuncture 2000 Years before China?

A 5,200-year-old corpse discovered in a glacier in the Alpine Oetz valley between Austria and Italy in 1991 is being hailed as evidence that Europeans practised acupuncture some 2,000 years before the Chinese. The body of the Tyrolean Neolithic man showed 15 groups of simple tattoos on the back and legs which tally with those used in modern acupuncture.

"It looks like an early form of acupuncture originated in central Europe," said Dr Frank Bahr, president of the German Academy for Acupuncture, who was in Vienna to present the results of a study into the tattoos. "I was amazed, 80 percent of the points correspond to those used in acupuncture today".

Five groups of linear tattoos along the spine were probably applied to combat back pains, and were found to be located on - or close to - classical acupuncture points. The iceman, nicknamed Oetzi by his finders and who is thought to have died of exhaustion at the age of about 45, suffered from acute arthritis, worms and diarrhoea.

Ancient Chinese acupuncture is thought to have originated in about 1,000 BC and scientists said the iceman's therapeutic tattoos were applied in 3,200 BC.

"It is the oldest evidence we have of an early form of acupuncture," Bahr said. Why the iceman's skin was tattooed rather than pierced without leaving scars was unclear. Either the fresh wounds were rubbed with charcoal to create slight irritation and a longer-lasting effect, or ...