Biometric ID in Ancient Times?

We see in prehistoric man attempts to mark a place as one's own, to be remembered, to create something beautiful. Early cave paintings dating back around 40,000 years show human hands stenciled with red and brown pigments. Interestingly, scientists studying the handprints for gender differences find the handprints to be mostly female.

The first recorded evidence of writing is an intricate combinations of lines — called cuneiform — in clay tablets circa 3200 BC from Sumer, a region in what is now Iraq. In a developing society where most people could not read or write, a signature or identifier was needed for official documents. Thus, we see evidence circa 2600 to 2350 BC of fingerprints on clay seals. There is also evidence that ancient Babylonians used fingerprints on contracts circa 1900 BC.

Ancient China had a vast, growing population and needed a useful method of record-keeping to manage society, and keep law and order. From the Qin and Han Dynasties through the Six Dynasties periods (c206 BC to 589 AE), fingerprints were found recorded on a wide array of official documents: engagements, divorces, deeds, records of indenture and army records. They are also found used as a signature on formal confessions — not so different from modern society.

The use of biometrics as identifiers today is often seen as an encroachment of technology on modern life. From a fingerprint in clay in Mesopotamia to a fingerprint on silk in ancient China, the reality is that biometrics were used as identifiers thousands of years ago. Ancients understood that physical attributes could be used to minutely differentiate between people and used the information to great advantage.



Biometrics in the Ancient World: The Secret History of Identity

Crossmatch blog, Crossmatch.com


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