Tattoos: Making a Permanent Mark on the World
The modern word “tattoo” was derived from the Tahitian word “tatatau” or “tattau” meaning to hit or strike.
Tattoos in the Ancient World
● The Iceman from the Italian-Austrian border – earliest known example of tattoos
○ Discovered in 1991
○ Iceman is carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old
○ Iceman’s tattoos consist of dots and small crosses on his lower spine, right knee and ankle joints
■ These locations correspond to areas of strain-induced degeneration
■ They may have been applied as therapy to alleviate joint pain
● Egyptian tattoos date back to 2000 B.C. – considered the oldest examples before the discovery of the Iceman
○ Evidence suggests that Egyptian tattooing was predominantly for females
○ These females were once thought to be royal concubines
■ One has been revealed as a high-priestess named Amunet
○ Some archaeologists believe the tattoos were meant to ward off sexually transmitted disease
○ Some believe the tattoos played a more therapeutic role
■ A permanent amulet for pregnancy and birth
○ The tattoos were usually distributed around the abdomen, on top of the thighs and breasts
■ Abdomen – Net-like dots were applied
● these would expand during pregnancy – amulet of safety
■ Thighs – Small figures of the household deity, Bes
● Bes was the protector of women in labor
● suggests a symbol of safeguarding during birth
■ These explain tattoos as a mainly female custom
● The Scythian Pazyryk of the Altai Mountains – another ancient culture which used tattoos
○ 1948 – a 2,400 year old frozen body of a Scythian male was discovered in Siberia
■ His limbs and torso were covered in ornate tattoos of mythical animals
○ 1993 – a Scythian woman with tattooed mythical creatures on her shoulders, wrists and thumb, was found in a tomb in Altai
○ 450 B.C. – Greek writer, Herodotus, stated Scythian and Thracian tattoos were a mark of nobility
● Ancient Britons were also thought to use tattoos as a mark of high status
○ their tattoos were often of diverse shapes of beasts
○ Romans named one Briton tribe “Picti” – “the painted people”
● Greeks and Romans often used tattoos as a mark of “belonging”
■ Belonging to religious sects
■ Belonging to slave owners
■ A punitive measure to mark some as criminals
○ Roman soldiers also adopted the practice of tattoos
○ Tattoo fashion spread across the Roman Empire
■ With the emergence of Christianity, tattoos were looked on as disfigurement
■ Tattoos were banned by Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-373)
● Native Americans, such as the Cree, used extensive facial tattoos
○ Six mummified Inuit women from A.D. 1475 were discovered with facial tattoos
■ Examination revealed five of the women had been tattooed in a line
● Lines extended over the eyebrows, along the cheeks
● Some also had a series of lines on the chin
Tattooing Tools; Old and New
● Tools that are thought to have been used for ancient tattooing
○ 1450 B.C. – Small bronze instruments resembling wide, flattened needles
○ 3000 B.C. – a sharp point set in a wooden handle
(both above discovered by archaeologist W.M.F. Petrie)
● 19th century Egypt – they also used several flattened needles
○ According to English writer Wlliam Lane (1801-1876)
○ Tattooing was performed with several needles tied together. The ink was a mix of soot or oil and breast milk of a woman
● Today’s tattoo tool is an electronically powered machine resembling a dental drill. It injects ink into the skin.
● The machine moves a solid needle up and down to puncture the skin
between 50 – 3,000 punctures per minute.
● The needle penetrates the skin by about a millimeter deep and deposits a drop of ink into the skin with each puncture
● The tattoo machine has remained relatively unchanged since the 1800’s
○ invented by Samuel O’Reilly and based on the autographic printer
■ an engraving machine invented by Thomas Edison
● The ink is deposited into the second layer or skin; the dermis
● Non-sterile tattooing can lead to diseases such as Hepatitis, tuberculosis, HIV and syphilis
Drawing Lines to the Modern World:
● Today, the country with the most tattoos is Brittain with an estimated 20 million designs
○ 2013: David Beckham unveiled his newest tattoo in China
■ The Chinese characters say, “Life and death are determined by fate, rank and riches decreed by Heaven.”
■ Beckham reportedly has a total of 15 tattoos
● Most tattooed man: Lucky Diamond Rich
○ Lucky holds the Guinness World Record for the most tattoos
○ He has spent over 1,000 hours being tattooed by more than 100 artists
○ Lucky has been 100% tattooed including his eyelids and between his toes
● One of the strangest modern tattoo is the eyeball tattoo
○ David Boltjes was the first to let his prison mate stab him in the eye with this unconventional, untested tattoo method
○ The tattoos change the color of the sclera (white part of the eye)
● Not just for skin: One of the newest tattoo methods is tooth tattoos
○ Dental technician/tattoo artist, Steve Heward founded Heward Dental Labs
○ He and his team of artists/technicians paint minute works of art onto dental crowns
○ The price is anywhere from $75 – $200 USD
Statistics about tattoos today
● Americans spend $1.65B on tattoos per year
● Percentage of US adults with at least one tattoo
○ ages 18-25: 36%
○ ages 26-40: 40%
● 45m Americans have at least one tattoo
● There are 21,000 tattoo parlors in the US
● Average cost of a tattoo is $45 (small) to $150/hour (large)
● 32% of Americans claim to be addicted to ink
● 11% have had a tattoo removed
● 43% consider personal meaning to be the most important factor
● 29% say their tattoos make them feel rebellious
● 31% say tattoos make them feel more sexy
Sources:
- http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/tattoo.html?c=y&page=6
- http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-and-lifestyle/tattoo4.htm
- http://www.statisticbrain.com/tattoo-statistics/
- http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/lifestyle/4618889/Britain-is-most-tattooed-nation-in-the-world.html
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/25/david-beckham-tattoo-china_n_2948080.html
- http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/10000/most-tattooed-person