(http://www.powerverbs.com/tattooyou/history.htm)
My thesis statement is Tattoos and their history of health related illnesses, the facts and the fiction that have surrounded tattoos through the years. Just to start, some history on the art of the tattoo. The first initial tattoo was found to be over 9000 years old. It is believed that tattoos first appeared in the year 12,000 BC. The word “Tattoo” comes from a Tahitian word “Tatu”, which means to mark something. Initially tattoos played an important role in ritual and tradition. Women wore tattoos on their forearms to indicate a particular skill such as skilled weaver. These skills were believed to make a woman, more desirable as a matrimonial partner. Tattoos were also found around the wrists and fingers of people. Those tattoos were believed to ward off illnesses. Tattoos were also a signature of membership in a clan or society. Tattoos were also found to exist in Egypt, during the building time period of the great pyramids. Crete, Greece, Persia and Arabia civilizations picked up the art of tattoos for various reasons. Greeks used tattoos to communicate between spies. Spies would be marked with their rank, using tattoos. Romans used the art of tattoo to mark their criminals and slaves.