History of Tattooing

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There is an art form that many of us know about today, we see it everywhere, and on many different walks of life. People get this art for many different reasons; some people display their artwork proudly while others chose to keep theirs in places where only they may ever see. Many people have them, maybe even you have one. Tattoos are a way to express yourself, to let others know about you and who you are. This form of artwork has survived for thousands of years, and over those years tools used to make this artwork have evolved. This art form is called tattooing; tools used to create these tattoos have had many different names and many different tools. Tattooing has been around since the earliest civilizations; including the Japanese and the Polynesian, but the art was refined by the Western method. The discovery of the Iceman in 1991 date tattoos back to about 5,200 years ago. The Iceman was recovered from an area of the Italian-Austrian border. The tattoos that were found on the Iceman are described as dots and small crosses on his lower spine and right knee and ankle joints (Lineberry, 2007). They are believed to be used to alleviate joint pain and were essentially therapeutic. (Lineberry 2007) Scientists have found tools for tattooing that date back to 3,000 B.C. These tools consist of sharp point sets that were attached to a wooden handle(Lineberry, 2007). Tools have also been discovered in the ancient town of Gurob. These tools date back to 1,450 B.C. These tools consist of a small set of bronze tools that resemble wide, flattened needles (Lineberry, 2007). Ink used in those ancient times was made from a mixture of smoke black; The would either use wood or oil to burn to create smoke. The smoke would then be mixed with the milk from a woman's breast to create "ink" (Lineberry,2007). The needle tool would be used to make a wound in the skin and

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