Historical uses of biometrics

I have read in some cursory introductions to the subject of biometrics that it was used in different capacities by certain ancient and medieval cultures.

For example:

In Egypt biometrics such as height and facial characteristics (e.g. scars) were recorded and used to identify individuals; in China, ancient Babylon and Assyria, fingerprints were used to stamp business contracts.  I also read that int he 14th century, the Persians were the first to identify that fingerprints were unique to individuals.  In more recent history, a British colonialist in India used hand prints on contracts with native suppliers to reinforce the perception of the fact that contracts were binding.  It was this same colonialist that also later discovered that prints were unique to individuals and that was the prelude to the use of biometrics as personal identifiers.

I was wondering if any of our members here have read deeper into the history of biometrics and whether they can provide further enlightenment on the issue.

I look forward to any potential historical (or modern) based discussions on the issue.  Biometrics have business as well as security applications. There currently a scheme being pioneered in the US by a company called Pay by Touch through which consumers can make payments simply by entering a PIN and having their finger scanned.  Also in obscure places such as Guatemala and Pakistan, some bank ATMs are operating using finger print authentication.

I am in contact with a major global manufacturer of these techs and that is where I got my information from.   He said that the tech was already implemented with an Islam-abad based bank.

I think i am more likely in getting mixed up than him.

How does MyBank work (technologically) and which bank's pioneered it?

Cheers.

Great, you had me worried for a minute. lol.