History of Tattoos

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Tattoos began over 5000 years ago and are as diverse as the people who wear them. Tattoos are created by inserting colored materials beneath the skins surface and they meant different things in different countries. In ancient China, tattoos had been associated with criminals and bandits since at least the Zhou Dynasty (1045 BC to 256 BC). In northern India, permanent tattoos are called "Godna." Tattoos have been used as cultural symbols among many tribal populations, as well as the caste-based Hindu population of India. Henna and Mehndi were popular in ancient India and ancient Egypt, and still remain popular today in the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and North Africa. Tattooing has been a part of Filipino life since pre-Hispanic colonization of the Philippine Islands, tattooing in the Philippines to some were a form of rank and accomplishments, some believed that tattoos had magical qualities. Pre-Christian Germanic, Celtic and other central and northern European tribes were often heavily tattooed, according to surviving accounts. The Picts were supposedly tattooed (or scarified) with elaborate dark blue woad (or possibly copper for the blue tone) designs, though only Julius Caesar described these tattoos in Book V of his Gallic Wars (54 BCE). Tattooing for spiritual and decorative purposes in Japan is thought to extend back to at least the Jōmon or Paleolithic period (approximately 10,000 BCE) and was widespread during various periods for both the Japanese and the native Ainu. Chinese visitors observed and remarked on the tattoos in Japan (300 BCE); this just shows that tattoos have their own meaning in each culture and

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