Prehistoric Tattoos

Nearly all primitive cultures used tattoos to signify clan affiliation, rank within the tribe and to identify individuals in the afterlife. The ancient Japanese Ainu people believed that a woman who died without tattoos would be banished to Gehenna, their version of hell. The Libyans applied tattoos to small statues over 3,000 years ago, and the Egyptians tattooed figurines nearly 6,000 years ago. Many prehistoric tattoos employed series of dots, chevrons, triangles and animal figures to capture spirits and to claim rank.

Nomad Tattoos

One of the most dramatic examples of ancient tattoo art was discovered in 1947 in Siberia. This was a Scythian warrior chieftain who is believed to have lived around 500-300 B.C. Most of his body was covered with animal motifs, mythological creatures and battle scenes, all drawn with bold, dark lines, using a tattooing method now known as “Animal Style”. The Altaic Scythians worshipped horses, being Mongolian, and many of their tribal tattoos displayed stylized animals. Another Scythian, a warrior princess, was discovered in 1994 with patterns so similar to the chieftain that it is believed they were tattooed by the same person, or using the same pattern. Many of her tattoos were in honor of Epona, the European-Celtic horse goddess. The Scythians were the first people to use transfer patterns for tattooing designs on the human body. Over 2,500 years ago, the Scythians used felt cut-outs to transfer tattoo designs onto subjects, allowing for identical tattoos among tribal members.

Tattoos in the World

Tattooing spread from Egypt to Asia where it became extremely popular with the Japanese, Chinese, Persians, Greeks and Burmese. Horis, Japanese tattoo artists, are, undeniably, the preeminent kings and queens of color tattoo. They explored entirely new designs, colors and dimensions of artistic tattoos. Two thousand years ago, for a time, Japan limited tattooing to branding criminals. Religious tattooing is still common among the Burmese. The ancient Thracians, of the Balkan Islands, used tattoos during the first millennium B.C. to designate their status as aristocrats and royalty.

Common to most primitive tribes, tattoos were, and are, used as a rite of passage into adulthood. Young men and women were expected to brave the pain of archaic ceremonial tattooing to prove that they would be useful to the tribe by being strong and brave. Those youngsters unable to bare the experience were often tattooed anyway with signs of banishment and shame. On the other hand, totem animal marks were often tattooed during naming ceremonies to provide a connection with spirit guides and supernatural strength. These religious ceremonies were often accompanied with dancing, meditation, isolation, fasting and cleansing.

Banishment or Blessing?

Tattooing did not become popular with Europeans or non-native North Americans until the South Pacific had been extensively explored. The word tattoo is derived from tattau, the Tahitian word for making a mark. Before that time, Europeans viewed tattoos as disgraceful, often forcibly applied to criminals, soldiers and property, both human and domestic. The German Goths and many Romans commonly tattooed criminals and slaves to depict ownership or guilt.

It appears that tattoos are normally seen in one extreme light or another, either a tattoo designates honor and rank, or it implies bad judgment or criminal behavior. Luckily, for the rest of us, those extremes in thought are giving way to the more rational realization that tattoos are art, an expression of the self and the artist that can never been exactly duplicated. In Tahiti, a person’s tattoos tell the story of an individual’s life: puberty, marriage, children and major events illustrated on the skin, for all to see.

Tattoos are certainly a mark of significance to the wearer. Whether the connotations are good or bad, individuals normally get tattoos about things that matter to them. There is an innate bravery in expressing oneself so openly, the pain of the tattoo itself being secondary. Tattoos may have begun out of the uncertainty of primitive life, but the same basic human soul and character remains unchanged throughout the millennium and we are still driven and compelled to express ourselves artistically and publically.

Why in the World?

Tattoos are nearly always marks of rank, affiliation or beauty. The Maori women of New Zealand commonly receive tattoos around their lips and chin, blue tattooed lips being especially attractive and appealing to the Maori men, who also receive tattoos of rank, tribal affiliations, virility and social status on their face and buttocks. The well-known Maori style of tattoo is called “moko”, which means to tap or strike, and is characterized by detailed carvings traditionally cut into the skin with bone tools, to which color is then applied.

Other common uses for tattoos, historically, have been to ensure good health or to prevent injury during battle or on a major hunt, to capture the heart of a loved one and to connect with the spirit world. In many countries, today, such as Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, tattoos are embraced as a means to guarantee good luck and as protection against evil spirits. Astrological signs, specific animals, Celtic knots and religious icons are often believed to bring luck and are commonly used in tattoos.

Surprisingly, the Pilgrims of North America employed religious tattoos, in spite of the prohibition declared by Leviticus. When they travelled to Israel and religious sites throughout the Holy Land, they would employ Coptic priests to tattoo crosses and other religious marks as proof of their pilgrimage. In more modern times, tattoos are often chosen for reasons of affiliation, sentiment, religion and regret. Many prison inmates opt for a tattoo that will serve as a reminder of what their bad choices in the past have cost them. Tattoos often are in honor of someone close to the wearer: a son or daughter, a parent or other family member, or a fallen friend. In each of these cases, the sentiment being expressed is far from casual. To the contrary, tattoos are adopted for highly personal and sentimental reasons.

Far less intriguing but equally useful, tattoos are also used in the form of permanent make-up and as permanent identification in the medical field. Medical tattoos are used to guarantee that the correct instruments are used or to inform medical personnel about pertinent information. Historically, medical tattoos took the form of mantra wheels tattooed onto energy sites of the body called chakras. It was believed that these tattoos would restore a body’s natural balance, similar to acupuncture.

Tattoos Today and Tomorrow

Tattoos have recently regained their position as an acceptable form of self-expression. In fact, tattooing is now the 6th fastest growing retail business in America. New knowledge in the form of sanitation, design training, tattoo equipment development and the range of pigments available has made the possibilities of tattoo designs pretty much limitless. The quality of modern tattoos is unmatched as many highly skilled artists enter the field of tattooing.

The prejudices once associated with tattoos have faded in the light of reality and common sense. Tattooing has become so popular, in fact, that television shows such as Inked, LA Ink and Miami Ink have received rave reviews as many more people are exposed to the true artistic nature of tattoos. The rouge biker image of a tattooed brute no longer applies to the majority of responsible citizens who now wear tattoos with pride. In fact, recent studies have shown that approximately 15% of all Americans have tattoos.