A Brief History

For my first post I am writing about the history of tattoos. Although tattooing seems like a modern practice it can be dated back as far as 6000BC. 

The Iceman's wrist tattoos
Image source

In Europe the earliest example of tattooing would be Otzi the Iceman, found in 1991 in the Otztal Alps. 'Otzi' died in the Alps but his body was mummified and preserved by the ice. He has 61 tattoos, mainly lines, dating back to around 3300BC. These tattoos were not done the same way modern tattoos would be, instead the skin was cut and charcoal was rubbed into the wound. This method of tattooing was very common as well as pricking the skin with a needle to insert the dye under the skin, which is similar to the modern method. 

Modern Henna Tattoo
Image source

In ancient times the reasons for tattooing were different in different parts of the world. In China criminals would be tattooed with words such as 'prisoner' and slaves were marked as a sign of ownership. Tattoos were mainly seen as a form of punishment and were not common. However in many other places, such as Japan and India, tattooing was just a form of decoration. In India henna was very popular for body art. Henna is semi-permanent and is still widely used today. 

It is believed tattooing was used as a form of ancient medicine in Egypt. Mummies have been found with markings or scars that appear to have been therapeutic 'tattoos'. In 1898 a doctor named Daniel Fouquet wrote an article about medical tattooing in ancient Egypt. He believed the scars found on ancient mummies were of medicinal use, the specific ones he studied, for a pelvic condition. There has also been discussion over whether 'Otzi's' tattoos were an ancient form of acupuncture. 


Websites used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tattooing

http://www.iceman.it/en/tattoos

'Modern Henna Tattoo'

'The Iceman's wrist tattoos'

http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/tattooed-priestesses-hathor-001122