The history of Tattoos, Kim Potter, Candidate Number 8180

The History of Tattoos

 

The word tattoo is said to have come from two originations, from the Polynesian word 'ta' which means striking something, and the tahitian word 'tatau' which means to mark something. Many years ago, tattoos were created by striking the body, with pieces of sharp bone with ink on it. It is said that over time the English translation of this has formed into tattoo, so the name tattoo just means what it generally was, marking the skin by striking it. The history of tattooing began over 5000 years ago, and was seen over many different cultures and on a range of different people. Despite the current popularity of tattoos and the proof of how long they date back, there still aren’t many historical records of tattoos.

In 1991 a male frozen body, know as Oetzi, was found on a mountain between Austria and Italy. This mans body is said to be dated to be at least 5300 years old. The tattoos on his body consist of horizontal and vertical lines. Researchers have only been able to guess, that this type of tattoo was designed to fend off evil spirits, or possibly a kind of rite-of passage. The most popular opinion of the meaning of these tattoos is that they were designed to relieve painful joints, as his 57 tattoos are located on several joints of the body. Some other theories say they could show social position, ritual markings or even just preference.

Egyptians are well known to have an ancient culture of tattoos. Mummies have been discovered covered in a rage of tattoos; tattoos in the Egyptian society were believed to be seen as ritual markings. In Japan tattooing began on clay figures of deceased individuals. The meaning of these tattoos on the figures is said to be for religious or mystical purposes. The earliest acknowledged tattoo in Japan is from 297 AD and has been demonstrated to be for decorative purposes only. Both Japanese and Chinese cultures throughout history have not shown a liking to the idea of tattoos. I is still considered to be a way of contaminating your body. In ancient China a tattoo was a sign of criminal activity and was a permanent brand to show an individual as a lawbreaker.

During the late part of the 19^th century and the first half of the 20^th century tattoos were popular in circuses. For over 70 years major circuses employed several completely tattooed people. Some of these people were exhibited in sideshows, sometimes as ‘freaks’, whereas others may have performed in the circus as acts such as sword swallowing.

http://www.designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html

http://historyoftattoos.org/