Tattoos and Body Piercing-Final Project

Tattoos and Body Piercing Alexandra Molina COM 150 November 8, 2009 Elaine Miskinis Are you aware that tattoos and body piercing have an extensive history in other countries as well as the United States; even if the concept is similar, no two people have the same tattoo because tattoos and body piercing are the expressions of that individual person. In this essay, we will touch on a few different areas that will allow us to learn and understand a little more about tattoos and body piercing. With getting into the depth of tattoos and body piercing, you may ask, where did the idea of tattoos and body piercing come from? That is an excellent question and we will get into that explanation. During my research on tattoos and body piercing there seemed to be a big debate about the exact timeframe from which the first tattoo came about, but according to my findings, there does seem to be a common denominator and it is safe to say that the first tattoos can be documented back anywhere between 12,000 B.C. to 3300 B.C. (Mayers, Joy 2008-2009) According to scientist and researchers, the mummified-body of an iceman was found in the Italian Alps. Upon examining the dead body, the researchers discovered several marks on the skin of the body, which were considered to be over fifty individual tattoos. The ground breaking find stood to symbolize the earliest confirmation for tattoos in our history. (Mayers, 2008) Tattoos have also been found by scientist and researchers on certain Egyptian-mummies as well as Nubian-mummies from and around 2000 B.C. (Mayers,2008) Other nationalities and countries have documented ancient tattoo history as well, such as, the Germans, the Romans, Britons, the Gauls and also the Greeks. Tattoos that have been discovered by Europeans exploring North America and the seas south of the Pacific Ocean are considered to be the most common

References: 1. Associated Content (Jenne Joy, 2009). The history of tattoos. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1425459/tattoos_where_did_they_come_from.html?cat=69 2. Ezine Articles (Jeremy Neil Mayers, 2009). Where did tattoos come from? Retrieved November 8, 2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Tattoo-Origin---Did-Tattoos-Originate-Way-Back-in-3300-BC?&id=2266279 3. Ezine Articles (Mike Wamoult, 2008). Where did tattoos come from? Retrieved November 8, 2009, from http://enzinearticles.com/?Tattoo--Where-Did-Tattoos-Come-from&id=1173764 4. Michigan State University (2003). The first tools used for tattoos. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from https://www.msu.edu/~krcmari1/individual/history.html