How Have Tattoos Changed Over Time

The cultural performance and ritual of tattooing evolved over time, but holds historical significance for membership into a group of people, age bracket, or culture. Polynesians used tattoos as a coming of age ceremony, and symbol of adulthood. Boys would be put away for weeks at a time to transition from boyhood and to heal from the harsh procedure. As the practice moved aboard ships, men tattooed one another shoddily, creating connection and camaraderie between one another. As movement across seas spread tattooing, port cities began to sprout parlors as artistic sailors settled down with this new line of work; this became the only form of Polynesian art widely accepted and practiced in the West. P.T. Barnum accentuated the novelty of tattoos and employed these visually interesting people to performer. Sanitation practices were never consistent until the 1960’s when Sailor Jerry aimed to create tattooing into an esteemed and respected art form. “Realistic Tattoo” opened as the first shop to create custom, appointment-based tattoo art.

Tattoo is the act or practice of marking the skin with pictures, legends, etc, by making pictures in it and inserting pigments. Tattoo has been around for many years, it all started in 1991, at first it wasn’t used or view as symbolic but rather used to mark criminals or member is a religious group. In this generation, tattoo has become more popular among people especially adults and it has become more like a fashion.

My senior project was over the History of Tattooing, I chose this as my topic because Tattoos really interest me with all the different styles and meanings behind them. Some things I already knew about Tattooing is a lot of tribes used tattoos to symbolize things, but I didn’t know what.

The rising popularity of tattoos and body piercing is more than just the latest fashion craze. This type of body art has been a part of this world for thousands of years. Tattoos and piercings have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment (Smithsonian.com). In the later years (1940 – 2000) tattoos and piercings were more common among teenagers and young adults, but now, people of all ages are expressing themselves through body art. To try and understand this rise in the desire to permanently mark ones self, we must first determine the origin and history of tattoos and piercings.

Tattooing is a body modification practice used for centuries across the globe. Because of the multiple origins of tattoos, there are several techniques and countless styles. Every tattoo is unique in meaning to the person that receives it, though often they can fit into generalized categories. Tattoos have fallen in and out of popularity over the course of history, though they have never and most likely will never disappear.

Tattoos have been around throughout our history, from Egyptian times to the present day. Many people may say they know the history of tattoos, and where they originate from, but do they really? Does one know that there were reasons that some people had tattoos? There may be people who know the actual history of tattoos and body art and why one would decide to get one; however there are people who do not. To be able to understand the idea of tattoos, one should educate themselves to the history of tattoos. Although tattoos have been considered taboo and a stereotype, history reveals that this particular form of body art has been used for self expression, status and

- In ancient Greek and Rome tattooing was used in order to brand slaves and criminals. Greeks also used tattoos to identify and communicate with spies. It was during this period tattooing spread to central Europe and tattoos were used for medical purposes such as acupuncture which would later on influence the Chinese acupuncture society.

One in every five Americans have a tattoo. It is no longer surprising to see people with markings on their bodies. Many believed it is a form of self-expression. Even though some cultures or religions view tattoos as a negative thing, that does not stop people from getting them. To have a better understanding about tattoos we must go back and trace how it all began. From the tools, they used to the ink, it is incredible how tattooing has evolved over the years.

Tattoos have been dated back to 5000 BCE. Tattoos have played the role of being badges of honor, ceremonial markings, signs off social rank, forms of punishment, and of course ways for people to beautify themselves (The Cultural History of Tattoos). Over the past years, tattoos has increased and continues to increase significantly in popularity. According to statistics, 36% of American adults in the U.S. between the ages of 18-25 and 40% of American adults in the U.S. between the ages of 26-40 have at least one tattoo (Seth). While the trend of getting tattoos are increasing, the concerns of the employers starts to increase. People who have tattoos should not be discriminated because it is unethical, a form of self-expression, and art.

The tattoo is a very old form of body modification, but in spite of that there is still a certain rejection towards those who carry them in a visible area of the body, for some it disfigures what has been created in the image and likeness of God while for others associates this with convicts or gang members mainly because they were one of the first groups to use tattoos to differentiate themselves from the rest of society. But also it is true that there is a very limited understanding about this corporal modification that could be one of the reasons why it can not be appreciated as for how it should be. However, modern society reflects the current popularity of tattooing because it has acquired an entirely artistic meaning to a social expression and a way of identity.

Tattoos have become more popular over the last few decades. Many people today see tattoos as a way of

Tattoos do not have a fixed or determined origin, as many cultures have incorporated the practice into their society. The etymology of the English word displays how the practice was adopted from its Eurasian and Pacific origins and incorporated into Western culture. The word “tattoo” most likely comes from the Tahitian word “tatau,” which means “to mark something” (Scheinfeld, 2007), but it also has links to the Polynesian word “ta,” which means “striking something” (Taliaferro & Odden, 2012). The word “tattoo” was brought into the English language by explorer James Cook in 1769, after returning home from his voyage to Tahiti.

Until 1991, the earliest evidence of tattoos we had were, for a long time, Egyptian, and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C.-that was, at least, until the discovery of the Iceman, who was dated back 5,200 years ago. These earliest tattoos were small dots and crosses placed at knee and ankle joints, as well as the lower spine, to reduce joint pain-in essence, the first tattoos were therapeutic. The mummies found with tattoos were all female, suggesting the practice was female-only, and while the first mummies were dismissed by the (male) excavators as women of dubious status, one tattooed

Tattoos today are recognized as totally different than what they were pictured as in the past. “Tattooing is recognized by government agencies as both an art form and a profession and tattoo-related art work is the subject of museum, gallery and educational institution art shows across the United States.” [ (Levins,

Tattoo artist were mainly middle-aged men, who worked at the hole in the wall tattoo parlors. Body art also became known to be seen at circuses, and “freak shows” sometimes being next to people with disabilities or natural born wonders (DeMallo). Until the golden age of tattooing, which took place in the twentieth century, when parlors were actually next to things like barber shops, and retail stores. Margo DeMallo describe body art at the end of the sixties as “fragmented into different forms that corresponded to different social groups: servicemen, gang members, convicts, bikers, and working class men and woman” (DeMallo).