A Brief History Of Tattoo
by: Jax
Since Neolithic times tattooing has been a practice of Eurasians. In the Italian alps archaeologists found the mummified remains of “Otzi the iceman” also known as Similaun Man and was dated to be 3300 year old. Otzi bore 57 separate tattoos: a cross on the inside of the left knee, six parallel straight lines arranged in two rows on his back above his kidneys, each about 6 inches long; and several parallel lines on his legs and ankles. There were also mummies with tattoos found in Tarim Basin in west China that are dated to have lived during the end of the second millennium.
The most striking example of ancient pictorial tattooing is the heavily tattooed Scythian chieftain, the "godfather of the Tribal Tattoo," discovered by Russian archaeologists in Siberia near the Mongolian and Chinese borders in 1947. Unearthed from a kurgan burial mound at Pazyryk in the Altai Mountains, the mummy was dated to circa 500 BC. The mummified chieftain was preserved as an "ice-cube" because water leaked into the kurgan and froze immediately. His shoulders, arms and parts of his torso and one leg were covered with unique bold blackline tribal animal motifs. His tattoos have stylistic echoes of Persian, Assyrian, Indian art and strong parallels in the Zhou (Chou) Dynasty and Warring States periods of Chinese art.
In Samoa, the tradition of applying tattoo, or tatau, by hand has been unbroken for over two thousand years. The techniques and tools have changed little. Often, the skill is passed from father to son. Each turfuga or tattoo artist learns the craft over many years of serving as his father's apprentice. Hours and sometimes days were spent by young artist-in-training tapping designs into sand or tree bark using a special tattooing comb, or au. Samoan tattoo artists made this tool from sharpened boar's teeth fastened together with a portion of the turtle shell and to a wooden handle.
The purpose of tattooing varies from culture to culture. But commonalities prevail from the earliest known tattoos to those being done today. In the Philippines, 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. The more famous tattooed indigenous peoples of the Philippines where among the area up North Luzon, especially among the Bontoc Igorot, Kalinga, and Ifugao peoples. First documented by the European Spanish explorers as they landed among the Islands in the late 16th century, tattooing was a widespread tradition among the islands. To the natives, tattooing was a sign of Rank and power in certain communities.
By the early 20th century, in industrialized west tattooing had lost a great deal of credibility. Tattooists worked the sleazier sections of town. Heavily tattooed people traveled with circuses and "freak Shows. The cultural view of tattooing was so poor for most of the century that tattooing went underground. Few were accepted into the secret society of artists and there were no schools to study the craft.
The most striking example of ancient pictorial tattooing is the heavily tattooed Scythian chieftain, the "godfather of the Tribal Tattoo," discovered by Russian archaeologists in Siberia near the Mongolian and Chinese borders in 1947. Unearthed from a kurgan burial mound at Pazyryk in the Altai Mountains, the mummy was dated to circa 500 BC. The mummified chieftain was preserved as an "ice-cube" because water leaked into the kurgan and froze immediately. His shoulders, arms and parts of his torso and one leg were covered with unique bold blackline tribal animal motifs. His tattoos have stylistic echoes of Persian, Assyrian, Indian art and strong parallels in the Zhou (Chou) Dynasty and Warring States periods of Chinese art.
In Samoa, the tradition of applying tattoo, or tatau, by hand has been unbroken for over two thousand years. The techniques and tools have changed little. Often, the skill is passed from father to son. Each turfuga or tattoo artist learns the craft over many years of serving as his father's apprentice. Hours and sometimes days were spent by young artist-in-training tapping designs into sand or tree bark using a special tattooing comb, or au. Samoan tattoo artists made this tool from sharpened boar's teeth fastened together with a portion of the turtle shell and to a wooden handle.
The purpose of tattooing varies from culture to culture. But commonalities prevail from the earliest known tattoos to those being done today. In the Philippines, 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. The more famous tattooed indigenous peoples of the Philippines where among the area up North Luzon, especially among the Bontoc Igorot, Kalinga, and Ifugao peoples. First documented by the European Spanish explorers as they landed among the Islands in the late 16th century, tattooing was a widespread tradition among the islands. To the natives, tattooing was a sign of Rank and power in certain communities.
By the early 20th century, in industrialized west tattooing had lost a great deal of credibility. Tattooists worked the sleazier sections of town. Heavily tattooed people traveled with circuses and "freak Shows. The cultural view of tattooing was so poor for most of the century that tattooing went underground. Few were accepted into the secret society of artists and there were no schools to study the craft.
In the late 1960s, a change towards tattooing emerged. Much credit can be given to Lyle Tuttle. A handsome, charming, interesting and knows how to use the media, Lyle tattooed celebrities, particularly women. Magazines and television went to Lyle to get information about this ancient art form.
Today, tattooing is making a strong comeback and it is more popular and accepted than it has ever been. Tattooist is now placed in the category of “fine artist” and have garnered respect not seen for over a hundred years. Classes of people seek the best tattoo artists in town. |