Tattoo History

While most people are not aware of how far back tattoos and their uses are dated in history, tattoos date back thousands of years and have a variety of uses. Tattoos symbolize everything from personal experiences, religion, or simply art. There are literally thousands of designs and styles that variety from black to elaborate colorful schemes. Rather flaunted or hidden, sought as art or bought out of a whim, the tattoo has left its mark on generation after generation (Krakow, 1994). Throughout history tattooing has had many purposes that vary from culture, to person, to a specific date in history. The word tattoo, a Tahitian word meaning “to mark something”, has existed since 12,000
B.C. According to “A Brief History of Tattoos,”
In tribes, tattoos around the wrist and fingers were believed to ward away illness. The earliest record of tattoos, to date, was found in 1991 on the frozen remains of the “Iceman” scientist have named Otzi. His lower back, knees, ankles, and the foot were marked with a series of 57 small lines, made by rubbing powdered charcoal into vertical cuts. X-rays revived bone degeneration at the site of each tattoo, leading researchers to believe that Otzi’s people, ancestors of contemporary central and northern Europeans, may have used tattoos as medical treatments to reduce pain. Other than this were the tattoos found in Egypt during the time of the construction of the pyramids. As quickly as the Egyptians expanded their empire, so did the art of tattooing. The civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia picked up and expanded the art form (A Brief History of Tattoos). The Greeks used tattooing for communication among spies by identifying them and showing their rank. Romans marked their criminals and slaves. This practice is still carried on
In 787 AD, Pope Hadrian banned tattooing, yet it still thrived in Britain until the Norman Invasion of 1066 tattooing soon disappeared from Western culture for four centuries (12th to the 16th century). In Japan tattooing still thrived. First they were used to identify criminals. The first offenses were marked with a line across the forehead. A second crime was marked by adding an arch. A third offense was marked by a second line. When put together these marks formed the Japanese character for “dog”. The wearer was shamed for life. The body suit originated around 1700 as a reaction against very stringent laws concerning conspicuous consumption. Only royalty were allowed to wear ornate clothing. As a result of this the middle class adorned themselves with these extremely elaborate full body