A Short History of Tattoos
Tattoos have a long history, as humans have been decorating their bodies for thousands of years. The forces behind this permanent form of body modification have varied through the ages. Sometimes tattoos have acted as amulets, sometimes as signs of tribal identity, and sometimes as stigmatizing brands, although they could also be a pure adornment, a reflection of the aesthetics of different eras.
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Prehistorc Tattoos
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It has been speculated that the first tattoos were merely accidental, the result of rubbing a wound with a hand dirty with colorful clay or black soot from the fire pit. The techniques became more refined over time, and archaeologists have found neolithic clay discs and bone needles used for the creation of ancient tattoos like the ones decorating "Otzi the Iceman". Otzi, discovered in a mountain between Austria and Italy, lived circa 3300 BC, and his skin bears 57 tattoos.
Tattooing in Antiquity
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The use of tattoos was common to many ancient cultures. For a long time, the earliest known examples of tattoos were found on the bodies of Egyptian mummies, all of them female, dated to c. 2000 B.C. Initially they were described as “dancing girls,” but later translations of their funerary inscriptions reveal that at least one of them was a high-status priestess. Tattooing was also popular among many ethnic minorities of ancient China, among the tribes of the islands of the Pacific and among the outcasts of Japan.
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Tattoos in Pre-Christian Europe
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In Europe, pre-Christian tribes of Germanic and Celtic origin were often heavily tattooed, according to Roman reports. The celtic clan of the Picts was actually named after this practice, with the word "pictus" meaning "painted ones". Roman legionnaires returning home from the campaigns brought tattoos back into the empire. However, after the emergence of Christianity, tattoos were felt to "disfigure that made in God's image," and were banned by Emperor Constantine.
The Modern Tattoo: Deviance and Exoticism
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Following Constantine's decree, tattoos were outlawed and were not seen in Europe for almost 1500 years. They were reintroduced around 1769, following James Cook's British expedition to Tahiti. The term "tattoo" was coined after the Tahitian word "tatau," used to describe the striking technique used by the islanders. As the sailors and seamen that reintroduced the practice were often seen as unsavory elements of society, this form of body modification was associated with criminals and other social outcasts for generations.
Tattoos Today
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Tattoos, like many other forms of body modification, gradually gained the tolerance of society, followed by acceptance. Finally, they achieved mainstream popularity after the counter-cultural movements of the latter half of the 20th century became enmeshed with the mainstream culture. For some, tattoos are a form of self-expression, a fashion or (anti-fashion) statement. For others, they are part of a body project, a step in the construction of a viable self-identity through body modification.For some, tattoos are a link to the past, a way to replicate rituals and traditions of other eras, while for others they are a step into the future, a transgression of current ideals about the body and a rejection of classical beauty.
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References
- Photo Credit Tattoo image by Kai Rollmann from Fotolia.com
