Ancient History of Friction Ridge Fingerprints
Friction Ridge skin impressions were used as proof of identity in China as early as 300B.C. They were first used to investigate crime scenes, the earliest example from a Chinese document entitled “The Volume of Crime Scene Investigation – Burglary” from the Qin Dynasty.
Later, they were used to “seal” letters and to uniquely identify their authors, like a signature.
China and Japan subsequently adopted “seals” which are stamps with uniquely etched patters using the character of one’s name.
They were seen in Japan as early as A.D.702. in similar fashion.
In India, where prints were used since approximately A.D. 1600, they were reserved for royalty.
In the 17th and 18th centuries they began to be used in Europe.
