Tatoos : The History And History Of Tattoos

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.

Tattooing is the art of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, or legends by making pricks and inserting colored ink. The word itself has its origins in the South Pacific. The art had been referred to as pricking, scarring, or staining until explorer Captain James Cook encountered the indigenous peoples of Tahiti. (Wilkinson 6)

For some people tattoos are being used as a known accessory, the reason on why do people make the decision to get them is hardly if ever even questioned. The pain, the stereotypes, and the misconceptions that are often associated with tattoos would pose the question as to why would you choose to get a tattoo. Tattoos can be personal and good way of expressing yourself. Most people, they are shown as different symbols that each have an equal level of significance. The essential of each tattoo have each found the symbolism of them, and their cultural relevance has consistently been a trend found throughout history, religion, and art.

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”.

Different cultures tattoo for different reasons like, protection, rank in society, adornment of the body and coming of age. Regardless of why people are tattooed, they have been tattooing since before the birth of Christ.

The old settlers of Polynesia were the first ones to tattoo their skin. They tattooed men to such an extent that there was not a piece of bare skin on their body. Polynesia is the place that has the reputation of more artistic tattoo in the ancient world, characterized by geometric shapes. In fact the term "tattoo” has a Polynesian origin. More specifically in the Polynesian word 'ta' which means striking or to the expression "tau-tau" used to talk about the clash between two bones.

Historically tattoos have played an important role in Middle Eastern culture. Tattoos have been especially significant in tribal communities. While traditional techniques have lost popularity in the Islamic countries, skin decorating has remained prominent. The once popular practice of permanent tattooing has shifted, in many places in the Middle East, to the practice of temporary tattooing. There is a diverse range of meaning behind tattooing in theses countries. The tattoos were used for protection, decoration and displaying sexuality. Interestingly, it appears as if there have not been many formal studies about the meanings and origins of tattoos in the Middle Eastern culture. However, I was still able to find

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.

“The word tattoo is said to has two major derivations; from the polynesian word ‘ta’ which means striking something and the tahitian word ‘tatau’ which means ‘to mark something’.” (http://www.designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html) Tattoos were discovered by a simple mistake. Someone got a bad gash and accidently rubbed it with their dirty hand with happened to have ash from a fire pit on it. When the wound healed completely, the skin grew over the ash and

Author Carrie Read reports on ancient tattooing in China, beginning with the Tang dynasty (618-907). Barbarians tattooed their bodies according to tribal beliefs and slaves were tattooed as punishment, Read explains (361). In the Kirghiz culture women tattooed the "nape of the neck" to indicate marital status. This is a very interesting scholarly source.

Tattoos or markings of the skin have been recorded back to ancient egyptians. Symbols often seen for good luck or fertility were considered amulets to protect. Whether for or against, the proof is in the mummies. While the ‘Iceman’ that was discovered, his tattoos seemed to be more in the direction of a therapy to relieve pain. Today, tattoos are a regular sight in many different workplaces and religions, by the same token there will always be some people and some religions unwilling to accept the practice of decorating your body. Tattoos have been around for a millennium and most of their meanings are up to the receiver.

Many people now have tattoos since they are so widely accepted throughout many cultures. Tattoos have been around for a very long time and were used in many different ways. Montserrat states that tattoos were a part of the cultures in North America, Europe, Japan, China, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Greece. Many modern cultures have learned to accept the fact that tattoos do not mean the same things they used to. In the past, they were used as identifying slaves and criminals (Montserrat). Tattoos were used to remind people of the journeys they had taken and was used by members of the military (Montserrat). According to Montserrat, “From the late 20th century, many American and European celebrities had tattoos, as did many members of youth culture,

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.

What used to be the property of sailors, outlaw and rock star is now become a popular body decoration for many people. It’s not just anchors, skulls, and spider web anymore, people have found plenty ways to express themselves with their tattoo. You might be thinking to get your first one, but fear of the unknown can sometimes hold you back from it. The best thing you can do is educate yourself about the process how the human skin is transformed into a beautiful work of art.