It is surprising to learn that the use of fingerprints for identification was not a recent discovery, but rather began thousands of years before Christ, specifically in Syria and China.
Long before the advent of forensic science and the scientific justification of fingerprinting in the nineteenth century, humanity knew about and used fingerprinting long before that time in history.
In ancient Babylon and Assyria, for example, people used their fingerprints as a "signature" or personal seal, leaving an imprint on clay tablets to protect documents from forgery.
Archaeological discoveries show that the use of fingerprints as a means of identification began in the Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations in Iraq and Syria, and in the ancient civilizations of China between 7000 and 6000 BC.
One of the earliest examples was found at Tell Halula, a Neolithic settlement in northern Syria. Researchers discovered fingerprints on a clay figurine depicting a bovine. By analyzing the width and density of the fingerprint lines, they were able to estimate the age and sex of the figurine's maker. The figurine was found to have been made by an adult male, approximately 18 to 20 years old.
Scientists have also found fingerprints of ancient people on pottery from the "Yangshao Civilization" dating back to the Neolithic period in China, more than 5,000 years ago.
China is known globally as the birthplace of fingerprinting technology. During the Qin Dynasty, approximately 2,200 years ago, judges used fingerprints to investigate cases and establish identities. Later, with the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, fingerprinting became widely used as a means of verifying personal identity on various documents, including loan agreements, certificates, and military records.
Similar ancient practices reappeared in the first millennium BC. In this era, in China and Babylon, fingerprints were left on clay tablets and seals as a personal signature or "seal" for documents. In seventh-century China, fingerprints were used for ritual purposes, such as during divorce proceedings.
Since ancient times, humans have observed distinctive patterns in fingerprints, but they did not realize that these patterns were unique to each individual, nor did they use them systematically for identification. Despite their long history of use, fingerprinting was not studied systematically as a science until modern times.
In Europe, interest in the structure of finger skin emerged later. In 1686, the Italian scientist Marcello Malpighi, examining the skin under a microscope, described the various patterns of loops and spirals. Later, in 1788, the German anatomist Johann Christoph Andreas Mayr concluded that each person's fingerprints are unique.
The turning point was what the English official William Herschel discovered, who worked in the Indian Civil Service in Bengal between 1853 and 1878. During his service, he encountered fraud in the payment of Indian soldiers’ salaries.
On July 28, 1858, Herschel began asking recruits to put their fingerprints on receipts. Over the course of 19 years, he collected a large amount of data and became convinced that the "papillary lines" on the fingers were not only unique to different people, but also remained unchanged with age. He later suggested using the method of recording prisoners, but the idea did not find support at first
Around the same time, in 1880, the Scottish physician Henry Faulds also developed the idea of the uniqueness of human fingerprints. He not only built upon Herschel's ideas but also proposed a practical method for recording fingerprints using printing ink, and he performed the first identification using the impression left on the surface of a bottle.
In 1892, the British scientist Francis Galton published a book entitled "Fingerprints," in which he systematically explained the science of fingerprinting and established a detailed classification system based on three basic patterns: the arc, the loop, and the spiral. This step marked the official beginning of modern fingerprinting.
Interestingly, the first practical application of fingerprinting in the criminal field took place in Argentina in 1892, when a police officer named Juan Vucetich was able to solve the murder of two children using a blood-stained fingerprint, thus recording the first use of fingerprints in solving a criminal case in history
Later, in 1901, Scotland Yard officially established the first fingerprint office and began to systematically apply fingerprinting technology in criminal investigations, while fingerprints were first used as evidence in an American court in 1902.
Fingerprints are currently used in forensics as a primary method of personal identification, thanks to the unique and stable papillary patterns on the skin of the fingers, palms, and soles. These patterns form during embryonic development, between 10 and 16 weeks of gestation, and persist throughout life, regenerating if damaged.
In today's world, fingerprinting has gone beyond the scope of forensics, and fingerprint scanners are widely used in smartphones, access control systems, banking, and other fields
Fingerprint recognition technology dates back to ancient civilizations, its scientific foundations were laid by 19th-century scientists, and its standardization is attributed to police judicial practices in the early 20th century. Ultimately, computer technology propelled it to new levels of automation and widespread adoption, making it an indispensable tool in the fields of security and identity verification
