2008 Woodie Awards
Ancient Ink: The History of Tattoos
Sam Adamopoulos
Issue date: 4/9/07 Section: Inside WCC
- Page 1 of 1
Although commonly viewed as a part of modern pop culture, tattoos have existed for thousands of years.
In her book, Ink: The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo, Terisa Green explained that the word "tattoo" comes from the Tahitian "tatau." This translates into the phrase "to mark." As the history of man progressed, tattoos continued to serve a variety of meanings.
In an interview with Smithsonian, Joann Fletcher, a member of the University of York's archeology department, stated, "the earliest known examples were, for a long time Egyptian, and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C."
New discoveries often cause the alteration of historical theories. Fletcher claims that the famous 1991 discovery of the "ice-man," near the Austrian-Italian border, set back the date of the earliest known tattoos. Thanks to carbon-dating, a process that determines the age of a corpse, scientists discovered that this frozen, tattooed man was approximately 5,200 years old.
In his memoirs, George Burchett, a well-known British tattooist, elaborated, "Egypt … was in communication with Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia." With this in mind, it's probable that tattooing spread throughout these ancient civilizations.
Rae Schwartz, an editor for bellaonline.com stated, "In some societies it helped identify bands of people - as when family crests or tribal symbols were used."
Today, various gangs and motorcycle groups have their respective tattoos. These tattoos are used to give members a sense of identity.
It seems that, even after thousands of years, some things never change.
In her book, Ink: The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo, Terisa Green explained that the word "tattoo" comes from the Tahitian "tatau." This translates into the phrase "to mark." As the history of man progressed, tattoos continued to serve a variety of meanings.
In an interview with Smithsonian, Joann Fletcher, a member of the University of York's archeology department, stated, "the earliest known examples were, for a long time Egyptian, and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C."
New discoveries often cause the alteration of historical theories. Fletcher claims that the famous 1991 discovery of the "ice-man," near the Austrian-Italian border, set back the date of the earliest known tattoos. Thanks to carbon-dating, a process that determines the age of a corpse, scientists discovered that this frozen, tattooed man was approximately 5,200 years old.
In his memoirs, George Burchett, a well-known British tattooist, elaborated, "Egypt … was in communication with Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia." With this in mind, it's probable that tattooing spread throughout these ancient civilizations.
Rae Schwartz, an editor for bellaonline.com stated, "In some societies it helped identify bands of people - as when family crests or tribal symbols were used."
Today, various gangs and motorcycle groups have their respective tattoos. These tattoos are used to give members a sense of identity.
It seems that, even after thousands of years, some things never change.
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