Tattoo History
The word tattoo has its origins in the Tahitian language. The Tahitian word tattau means “to mark” and was first recorded by explorer James Cook during his exploration of the South Pacific. It is believed, however, that tattoos originated long before the word tattoo was used to describe them. Some scientists even maintain that marks found on the mummified body of the “Iceman,” a body dating from approximately 3300 B.C. are early tattoos. Tattoos dating from 2000 B.C. have been discovered on Egyptian mummies as well. Tattoos are even mentioned in some classical texts referencing their connection to the ancient Greeks, Germans, and even Britons. Different cultures all over the world have been found to employ a variety of tattooing methods, most notably Native Americans. Many Native American tribes tattooed their faces and bodies by a technique called “pricking,” with some tribes inserting color into scratches to make a tattoo. The Inuit often punctured the skin with a needle and then drew threads coated with color underneath the skin.
While tattoos are usually considered just body art in today’s world, they have also had an important role in rituals and were even used as a way of communicating about the person adorned with them. Women in Borneo had their forearms tattooed with their skill and tattoos were believed to keep away illness when worn around the fingers and wrists. The biker group, the Hells Angels, have long used tattoos as an indication of their membership. The Greeks used tattoos as a way to mark spies and the Romans marked slaves and criminals with tattoos. This practice still continues – the Ainu of western Asia are tattooed as a way of demonstrating social status. This was also employed during the Holocaust when the Nazis tattooed the people in concentration camps against their will with numbers that replaced their names as a way to dehumanize them.
The slow and painful process of tattooing has also been refined over the years. While at one time each skin puncture was done by hand, the electric tattooing machine, patented in 1891, is now the method of choice. The machine, based on the electric pen used for engraving hard surfaces invented by Thomas Edison, has changed little since then. Usually controlled by a foot pedal, a tattoo machine is not unlike a sewing machine in its up and down motion puncturing the skin and driving color into the skin’s dermis.
Though the people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities sporting permanent body art may not realize it, tattoos have a long and distinguished history throughout the world. The tattoo legacy continues with each needle piercing virgin skin right at this moment.
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