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Additional colorspaces optimized for red pigments (i.e., LRD, LRE, RGB0, YRD, YRE) were also effective at distinguishing red ink, though some areas of the tattoo appeared more faded than when using the YBR colorspace. Among colorspaces optimized for black pigments, the LBK and YBL colorspaces were equally effective at distinguishing black ink to the YBK colorspace, while the LAB and LBL colorspaces were less effective.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the St. Louis Science Center and IMG for providing permission for me to take photographs. I also thank Ronn Wade for his knowledge, assistance, and previous work to preserve the Burns Anatomical Collection through the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Finally, I thank Aaron Deter-Wolf for his useful feedback and comments.
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Equipment used in this research was funded by the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
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This research was conducted with the consent of the St. Louis Science Center, IMG Productions, and the Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland.
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Austin, A. Identifying red ink tattoos using DStretch®: imaging a papal tattoo identified on the arm of a man in the Burns collection. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 14, 12 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01485-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01485-z