Many people get tattoos in the United States and around the world. According to a (2012) survey by Harris Interactive one in five adults in the United States has at least one tattoo (Pg. 1). Tattoos and piercings date back to early man. Tattoos are found in many cultures, their origins date back to early Egyptian times, female mummies dated from 2000 B.C.
I. To show how tattoos’ were used other than as art on your body, lets go in depth as to how they were also important in the community and among other tribes. A. Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice since Neolithic times “Otzi the Iceman”, dated circa 3300 BC, bore 57 separate tattoo’s ranging from possible therapeutic tattoos, which we will go a little more in depth about later on, to religious tattoos which we will also go in more detail about later on. The history of tattoos. (2010).
Tattoos are accepted in many cultures, they date back to early Egyptian times, mummies have been found with markings to bring them into the afterlife safely. The oldest known tattoos were found on a mummified body found in the Alps in 1991. It was found to be over 5,000 years old. Throughout history, tattoos have been symbols for religion, affiliation, social status and self-expression. According to a survey, 24 percent of Americans ages 18 to 50 have at least one tattoo.
The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to record and communicate information about the religion and government. Therefore, they invented written scripts that could be use to hold and record this information. The most famous Egyptian script was hieroglyphic, however throughout the three thousand years of history, at least three other scripts were used for different objectives. The scripts were tools for scribes, so that they were able to preserve the beliefs, history, and ideas of ancient Egypt on papyrus scrolls. One of the most unique traits of the Egyptians was their architectural innovation for building pyramids.
Discovery “In August 1984, a small piece of human cranial bone was recovered by Kenyan fossil-finder Kamoya Kimeu at a site located near the Nariokotome sand river, some 5 kilometers inland from the western shore of Lake Turkana, northern Kenya (F. H. Smith 1994: 418).” Kimeu was part of the Richard Leaky and Alan Walker excavation team. His discovery led to 4 years of excavations at the site designated as Nariokotome III. A collection of bones found over this period of time, which belonged to WT 15000, exists as the most complete early human skeleton. “Such an answer to a paleoanthropologist's prayer is the Nariokotome hominid, a nearly complete skeleton of an adolescent individual (Zihlman 1993: 133).” Sites near Turkana were popular, for example; specimens of Homo erectus were also found at Koobi Fora which is on Turkana’s eastern shore. Age and condition of skeleton Several ways were used to date skeletons such as analyzing volcanic tuffs and the stratigraphy of the site to determine an estimate of the period in which these early humans would have lived.
The Samoan, Maori, Borneo, African, North American Aboriginal cultures are just a few that have used the tattoo as a way to tell a story of Transition into maturity. Before there was writing with words to identify a person, we used pictures. Many of the cultures used the tattoo to tell the status of an individual in society. The Maori of New Zealand used Tattooing starting at puberty, accompanied by many rites and rituals. In addition to making a warrior attractive to women, the tattoo practice marked both rites of passage and important events in a person's life.
What am I talking about? Tattoos, a story told from the skin that says a thousand words. Today I’d like to talk about the history of tattoos, explain the process of getting one; and tell the story behind one of my favorite tattoos. History: The earliest evidence was found in Egypt and was present on several female mummies dated to 2000 B.C. (Lineberry,2007).
Although the word initially referred to physical and mental states relating to women, its meaning has changed. The meanings of words change overtime because people merely use them in different ways. The first appearance of the word "hysteria" in the English language occurred sometime in the early 19th century. While the word itself does not appear until around the 1600’s, the history of its origins and development goes back thousands of years. The recorded history of the diagnosis began in ancient Egypt with the Kahnus Papyrus dating from about 1900 BC.
Originally, the age of the paintings had been a controversial issue. Since processes like radiocarbon dating can manufacture misinforming outcomes if contaminated by sections of older or newer material, and caves and rocky overhangs commonly scattered with remains from many time phases. But succeeding knowledge has made it promising to date the paintings by testing the pigment itself and the torch marks on the walls. The more of the subject matter can also imply the history. For example, the reindeer painted in the Spanish cave of Cueva de las Monedas shows the illustrations in the last Ice Age.
Some people believe that body piecing is a form of bodily modification that is fairly new to this world, but research shows, that it is a ancient form of art with meaning and reasoning beyond what is known today. Different cultures have used body piercings in many different ways throughout history. This essay will show that different cultures have used body piercing in many different forms, for example there are the Romans, the Egyptians, and the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. Research will help to clarify some of the more distinct ways each of these civilizations used body modification and the different uses for them. According to this website, www.rankmytattoos.com (2003-2007), “The Romans used body piercings only with a purpose.” Men would pierce their nipples to symbolize power and strength.