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Tattoos have been around for as
long as at least 5,000 years and it is arguable
that they have been around for as long as 12,000
years. This makes the history of tattoos (see
Tattoo Etymology
for more history of the tattoo) a long one! Almost
every ancient culture has references to tattoos.
Even the world famous ötzi the ice man’,
found high in the Alps between Austria and Italy
had ink – over 57 tattoos!
There is evidence that these tattoos were made
for therapeutic reasons but they may also have
been for inclusion in a group or tribe. Tattoos
have often been a mark of inclusion for organizations
such as a military group (see History
of Military Tattoos).
In 1948 more evidence of tattoos
in history was found between Russia and China,
120 miles north of the border. Archeologist Sergei
Rudenko was excavating tombs in the altai mountains
in southwestern Siberia. 2400 year old mummies
were found, and evidence of tattoos on the bodies
represented different animals such as griffins,
and magical monsters. The tattoos are believed
to represent the status of the individuals, magical
significance, or were simply decorative.
The Egyptians
also have a long history of tattooing
albeit only on women. In 1891 remains
of a priestess of the goddess of hathor were found
dating from 2160 BC. The tattoos depicted lines,
dots, dashes, and geometric patterns all over
her body. In ancient Egypt tattoos were restricted
to women as they were the ones associated with
this ritual.
The earliest evidence of Japanese
tattoos were found on clay figurines on which
the faces were painted and engraved with tattoo
marks. The oldest examples date back to 3000 BC.
The tattoos are believed to have magical and /
or religious significance as they usually accompanied
the dead, possibly on their journey into the unknown.
The first written record of Japanese tattooing
practices was found to date back to 279 AD. The
Japanese seemed to be interested in tattoo art
mostly because of its decorative qualities rather
than magical ones. Japanese tattoo artists, called
the horis, were the undisputed masters of their
day.
read more at History of Tattoos
- Part 2
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