Significance Of Tattoos

The word Tattoo is believed to have originally come from the Samoan word “Tatau”. “The Samoan word for tattoo came from the Polynesian language, and the word tatau originates from the tapping sounds of the tool made during tattooing” (U.S National Park). The origins of the Samoan tatau have been passed down orally through

You would be hard pressed to find many women with tattoos during the 19th and 20th centuries, but one women pushed through the skepticism and public views to become America’s “first tattooed lady.” Nora Hildebrandt was the daughter of the first professional tattoo artist in America, Martin Hildebrant, so it figures that she would eventually follow in her father’s footsteps and develop a fascination with tattoos. Nora began showing off her tattoos in 1882 at the age of 32. Her primary mode of displaying the 365 tattoos that covered her body from neck to toe was to go on tour with Barnum & Bailey Circus (Pednaud, 2014). She toured with the well-known circus throughout the 1890’s, until she was eventually out done by another tattooed woman and consequently faded into time. While Nora might have made tattooed women a grand attraction at circuses, she was just the beginning.

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.

Depending on the style one wants, it is said that some cultures may have rules as to what requirements need to be met to get certain tattoos. Polynesian tattoos have been a tradition that has been carried on from about two thousand years ago. “Tattooing is a sacred ceremony in Polynesian culture. The tattoos and their location on the body were determined by one’s genealogy, position within the society and personal achievements.” (PolynesianTattoo). This quote clearly displays the concept that only certain people, depending on their position in society, have the privilege to get certain tattoos and in certain areas of their body. This also allows others to recognize and identify that person’s position in society. In Polynesian cultures, tattoos

Ancient tools made of bronze were discovered in Northern Egypt and were identified as tattooing tools.

Tattoos were given to distinguish rank a person's rank as well as to protect their health and spiritual well-being according to PBS. Traditional Hawaiian tattoos are very intricate, precise, symmetrical, and always involving a pattern and shapes of some sorts. Men would mostly receive tattoos on their arms, legs, torso, and face while women would have it placed on their hands, fingers, and tongue. I say “receive” because it was the kahuna that decided what kind of tattoo a person were to have and when. The

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

Tattooing is not just a recent fad. Tattooing has been around for a very long time. "The current first proven incident of a tattoo dates back 4,000 years B.C. a traveler was found in Italy near Austria, preserved in the permafrost of a glacier. Carbon dating and arte facts found near him suggest that he is over 5,300 years old" (Tattoos and Design). Tattoos have been used

Tattoos have been around since 3,000 B.C. The oldest discovery of a tattooed mummy was the “Iceman”. The frozen body was discovered by hikers in 1991. The tattoos discovered on the body had no specific drawing there were just straight lines and small crosses. This led to believed that tattooing was used as a therapeutic to relieve pain. The Egyptians hold the true claim to fame regarding tattoos. It was common practice for Egyptian women of high status to received tattoos for the same sort of therapeutic reasons. “Tattooing of ancient Egyptian women had a therapeutic role and function as a permanent form of amulet during the very difficult time of pregnancy and birth” (Line berry 2).

For a women who died without such tattoos, it was believed that she would not be recognized by her parents in the afterlife. Tattoos also signified a person of high status. In 450 BC the greeks wrote that among the scythians and thracians, “tattoos were a mark of nobility, and not to have them was testimony of low birth”.

They also marked prisoners and slaves with these tattoos. In the days of the Roman Empire marked soldiers’ hands for identification to make desertion difficult. The gladiators and slaves were marked as well. “Exported slaves were often tattooed with the words “Tax paid” and it was common to practice to tattoo “Stop me, I’m a runaway” on their foreheads” (Tattoos). Emperor Constantine I banned tattooing to the face around A.D. 330.

The story we know goes back to the Stone Age. In 1991, one hunter man was found in a glacier from the Neolithic era; his back and knees tattooed. Before the hunter mummy, the oldest person with tattoo that was discovered was the Egyptian priestess, Amunet worshiper of Hathor, goddess of love and fertility. She lived in Thebes around 2000 BC, and her tattoos, were pretty much the same style as the mummy of the hunter, linear with simple designs of dots and dashes. In the prehistoric cave of Aurignac small pointed bones were found and were believed to be use for tattooing at that time.

The history of tattooing date back to the first man, Otzi, in 3300 B.C. who was found frozen in the Alps (Nat-A-Tat2) and the history piercing date back to different primitive tribes for their beliefs (Tribu). Scientists say that the tattoos he had were for medical reasons. When they found his body, they took X-rays and where there were tattoos was where his bones had started to decay. His tattoos were on his back, knees, ankles, and feet. The ink used on his tattoos was made of powdered charcoal and rubbing it into his cut skin. Many ancient civilizations did tattoos and piercings for example the Egyptians, Greeks, Japanese, Arabian and Siberians. Many mummies have been found with tattoos and are the oldest bodies to be found with gauged or stretched earlobes (Tibu). The Egyptians were also the ones who brought tattooing to Greece and to Arabia (Nat-A-Tat2). In Japan, tattoos were used for beauty, beliefs “and to mark criminals” (Nat-A-Tat2).

Egypt of 5000 years ago utilized tattoos to show an important individual. It was brought over to the West by US Sailors traveling to the Philippians. It's not necessarily a good stereotype, since as it's been stated, the idea of tattooing comes from far more than just troublemakers in any country. It has historical and cultural significance all over the world.

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.