Tattoos Past and Present

Debra

Eng/101

9/15/11
Kimberly Stanley

Tattoos Past and Present

Some people may have tattoos and others may find them ugly or despise them but one

thing is true, tattoos are a part of the past and understanding where they came from can give us a

greater appreciation for them today. The Egyptians, the Japanese, the Chinese, and more all have

elaborate art histories whether it is buried in the pyramids, the temples, the sculptures, or caves

but how has our history books in school forgotten to mention the important history hidden in

tattoos? Tattoos have many meanings, and they are different all over the world and there past

leads directly to the present and if history repeats itself it may even tell us something about our

future. In this essay creating a timeline to conclusively draw a line through history too

today and understand the many traditions our culture still possesses. Tattoos are a

common part of our life because of recent discoveries we can give tattoos a past that leads to the

present.

Iceman 3200 B.C. Tattoos are part of our life but we forget that they are not new, in fact tattoos have been

around longer than we can significantly date. According to Lineberry, (n.d) the ”oldest man to

this date found is believed to have lived 5,200 years ago and possessed about 57 tattoos all over

his body in dot like formations, scientists believe because of the placement of the tattoos that

they were most likely to have been used for therapeutic purposes.” This information provides

evidence that tattoos date back to at least this time maybe much longer but this does provide

science with a starting point. It can be assumed the because of the placement that tattoos were

socially accepted as a form of healing. Dating anything back thousands of years has a high degree

of error because when carbon date anything Condender ministries states, “ the rate in which

carbon decays has to remain the same over the many thousands of years and we know this to not

be true due because environmental changes that can alter this process.” Since this man had so

many and is so much older than any other body we have discovered it is safe to conclude that

these markings and the placement of them leaves no doubt that these where tattoos and this is the

first clear starting point scientists have.

Egyptians 2000 B.C. Second in this timeline is the Egyptians; we know the Egyptians where a very intellectual

civilization so there tattoos can contribute drastically to tattoo history. Based on research

Egyptians make our second most prominent civilizations to socially accept tattoos and have their

own meaning behind them. Lineberry, (n.d.) states “Egyptian tattoos are thought to date back at

least 4000 B.C. but the only proof is on figurines, the first real bodies that have been discovered

are said to date back to 2,000 B.C. ” Tattoos have not always had the same meanings, designs or

placement through time tattoos changed even in one civilization but according to Lineberry

(n.d.) “The earliest Egyptians that had tattoos where women and these tattoos where place

around there belly thighs and breasts though most said these women where dancing girls and

these tattoo’s protected them from sexually transmitted diseases.” Most believe the Egyptians

were one of the most accomplished and intellectual people of their time with proof of their

brilliance still standing in what remains of the pyramids in there construction and interpreting the

paintings in them so it would be very degrading to believe we will ever figure out the exact

reason behind every tattoo. The important part of history is that they exist and we are open to our

own interpretations on why.

Japanese 300 A.D.

Third, the Japanese: taking a huge leap into “300 A.D.” (Associated Content n.d.) the

Japanese people where and still are in this date and time considered and amazing culture, with

the oldest wooden buildings in the world and some of the oldest traditions still being carried on.

Tattoos have played a major role in their culture all throughout time; the Associated

Content (n.d.) suggests “That the Japanese and tattoos date back to 10000 B.C. though no

evidence remains to prove that the first documented tattoos in Japan are recorded by Chinese

visitors in 300 B.C and are known to be symbols of status or religion. Later the Japanese where

known to use tattoos as a form of torture. The Japanese people today still have tattoos most just

simple designs but some people still wear full body tattoos most keep them hidden and according

to Japanese Tattoo(n.d.) ” People who had full body tattoos were not allowed into public baths in

an attempt to keep the Japanese Mafia out of their businesses. Even today this is still practiced in

many baths, hot springs and fitness clubs.” Based on the information provided it is clear that

some societies such as the Japanese have not grown to socially accept tattoos as many of the

other cultures have but that does not stop people from getting them engraved in their bodies and

will not take away from the history behind them.

Philippines 1500s’ A.D. Fourth, the Philippines make our list much more current on our list because the discovery of the Islands was not until recently. According to Associated content “The Spaniards were the first to land on the Philippine islands and dubbed the land Island of the painted ones due to their exquisite tattoos.” Based on the information provided the earliest evidence that we have of the Philippine tattoos puts the first documented reports of the tattoos in the Philippines in the 1500s’, though we know they have been around much longer there seems to be no real evidence to say exactly how long. The Philippine tattoos According to "The Vanishing Tattoo" (2011) had meanings to “mark head hunters and their number of kills, spiritual events and rites of passage” though there are many islands of the Philippines other parts according to Associated Content (n.d.) finds that “Tribal tattooing is slowly vanishing in many parts of the Philippines. Once a symbol of beauty, maturity, rank and bravery, knowledge of this ancient Filipino tradition of tribal tattoos is on the verge of being lost.” This is a strong reason why remembering tattooing culture, tradition, and history is important because this is how those that lived long ago lived their life and losing this information could result in the loss of cultural identity. Western World 1800s’ -2011 Last, the western world and how the tattoos evolved into the ones we see today.

According to Deitz (2011), " tattoos associated with the western world developed during the

1800s when the tattoo gun was invented” (para. 2) Today people wear tattoos for many reasons

such as personal, spiritual memorial, and some just because they like a specific design. Tattoos

are still seen in the western world from events like the holocaust where they were used to identify

a person or their religion which made them more like prisoners such as was done so many years

ago. Today gangs still use tattoos to symbolize they are part of a group and to show their status

in a group so while tattoos have changed drastically through many thousands of years many

meanings still the same and symbolize a tradition being kept alive by many.

Conclusion

Tattoos are a common part of our life because of recent discoveries we can give

tattoos a past that leads to the present. Thanks to Otzi the iceman who is the oldest of his kind

to date, the Egyptians, the Japanese, the Philippines, and the western world keeping this long

tradition alive we can draw this time line through many thousands of years and give tattoos their

rightfully earned acknowledgment as being one of history’s oldest traditions still being

carried on today. Next time you pass a tattoo parlor or someone with a tattoo(s) you can

appreciate their willingness to keep a treasured part of world history alive.

References
College Crunch. (2011). Retrieved October 12, 2011 from

http://www.collegecrunch.org/feature/15-surprising-stats-about-tattoos/

Contender Ministries (n.d.)The Problems With Carbon-14 dating. Retrieved October 10, 2011

from http://contenderministries.org/evolution/carbon14.php

Deitz, L. (2011). History of Tattooing Methods. Retrieved October 12, 2011 from

http://www.ehow.com/about_4884845_history-tattooing-methods.html

Designboom. (2000-2010). A brief history of tattoos

Retrieved from http: //www.designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html

Japanese Tattoo. (n.d.).History of Japanese tattoos Retrieved October14, 2011 from

http://japanese-tattoo.net/history-of-japanese-tattoos/

Lineberry, C. (2007, January). Tattoos: The ancient and mysterious history. Smithsonian, (), .

Retrieved September 21, 2011 from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-

archaeology/tattoo.html?c=y&page=1

Rohrer, F. (n.d.). So why do 'normal' people get tattoos?. Retrieved October 12, 2011 from

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7034500.stm

The Vanishing Tattoo (2011). Philippines. Retrieved October 10, 2011 from

http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/philippines.htm

Yeow, D. (2011). Associated content. Retrieved October 12, 2011 from

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/26530/philippine_tribal_tattoos.html?cat=16