subject: The History And Origin Of Tattoos [print this page] The History And Origin Of Tattoos The History And Origin Of Tattoos
Without ever really knowing most of us would assume that tattoo's originated in the South Pacific. Places like New Zealand, Tahiti and even Hawaii are all synonymous with tattoos and tattooing. It's a part of their culture and who they are. But you may be surprised to know that it might just be possible that tattooing did not originate in these areas, well it hasn't been proven just yet. In fact the earliest known examples of tattooing come from a mummified body found in the mountains between Italy and Switzerland.
This amazing find was unearthed in 1991, his body was found completely intact, fully clothed and they even found his bow and spear with the body. It seems that this unlucky chap was caught in a blizzard while out hunting.
What is most intriguing of all are the marking that the scientists found all around his body but the most noticeable and distinguishable of all was the marking of a cross just above his knee.
To date this is the earliest known examples of a tattoo found on any human being. Some scientists still argue that these markings cannot technically be classed as a tattoo but these are in the minority and this mummy is widely accepted as having the oldest known tattoos on earth.
Other examples have been found in Egypt and the Persian Gulf; though these examples may not be quite as old as what we've talked about already they still date into the region of about 2000 BC. The examples that have been found are widely accepted to be a much better example of the form that are commonly known as a tattoo.
These are not isolated examples, many more tattooed bodies have been found around the world; all thousands of years old. Examples have been found throughout Europe the Middle East and parts of Asia and help to prove that tattooing was common amongst many cultures and tribes throughout the world and not just in the south Pacific.
The Polynesian islands to play an incredibly important part in how tattooing has gotten to where it is today. The word tattoo comes from Tahitian word "Tatu" which means to Mark. And it was the stories that Capt. Cook brought back from his adventures in this part of the world in 1769 that helped to rekindle Europe's interest in tattoos, because up until then the idea of tattooing had largely died out.
Since Capt. Cook first introduced it the popularity of tattooing grew throughout Europe and eventually spread to the New World, but it was not until the turn of the 19th century when Samuel O Reilly invented the first mechanical tattooing machine did its popularity really begin to increase.
Up until that point the only way to have yourself tattoo was to injure the pain of having your skin manually punctured and the ink inserted. O'Reilly revolutionizes this process and now we find ourselves today where tattoos have become so vastly popular. To some they are a right of passage to others they are away to show their individuality but to everyone their tattoo means something different to them.
