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I believe that in some parts of India finger or thumb prints made visible with ink were used as a form of signature.
Could this have happened in Europe and China and other places with literacy?
What effects would this have?
Would the awareness of latent prints on other items have been used earlier in criminal investigations?
If registering one's finger print did not have the negative (being a criminal or at least a suspect) implications that it has in Britain would crime have become harder?