FranchescaA tattoo is a permanent mark or design made on the skin by a process of pricking and ingraining an indelible pigment into the punctures or by raising scars.
It is noted that tattooing (a Tahitian word meaning “to mark something”) has existed since 12,000 years BC. Women in Borneo tattooed their symbols on their forearm indicating their particular skill. In tribes, tattoos around the wrist and fingers were believed to ward away illness and bad spirits. The earliest tattoos can be found in Egypt during the time of the erection of the great pyramids. The civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia picked up and expanded the art form. The Greeks used tattooing for communication among spies by identifying them and showing their rank. Romans marked criminals and slaves, a practice still carried on today. Around 2000 BC tattooing spread to China. The Ainu are noted for introducing tattoos to Japan where it developed into a religious and ceremonial rite.
In the West, early Danes, Norse, and Saxons tattooed family crests (a tradition still practiced today). In 787 AD, Pope Hadrian banned tattooing, yet it still thrived in Britain until the Norman Invasion of 1066 when the Normans disdained tattooing. As a result tattooing disappeared from Western culture from the 12th to the 16th centuries.
In 1691, William Dampher re-introduced tattooing to the West when he brought to London a heavily tattooed Polynesian known as the Painted Prince. He was put on a moneymaking exhibition and became the rage of London. It had been 600 years since tattoos had been seen in Europe.
The birthplace of the American style tattoo was Chatham Square in New York City, a seaport and entertainment center attracting working-class people with money.While tattooing was declining elsewhere in the country, here it flourished.
Just like the times, tattooing in the 20th century took an enormous turn. Evolutionary scientist, Charles Darwin, wrote many papers, one that included an analysis of tattoos. For tattooing to be mentioned in such distinguished company made many people re-look at the art, finding that they were standing at the dawn of a new era in indelible history.
The most significant factor to the re-emergence of the ancient art of tattooing would have to be the electric tattoo machine. In 1891, Samuel O’Reilly patented the first electric tattooing machine, which was based on Edison’s electric pen that punctured paper with a needlepoint. The basic design with moving coils, a tube and a needle bar, are the components of today’s tattoo gun
Today, tattooing is making a zealous comeback. This rise in popularity has placed tattooists in the category of “fine artist” garnering a respect not seen for over 100 years. Current artists combine the tradition of tattooing with their personal style creating unique and phenomenal body art.
Today tattooing is interpreted as a pro-social and affectively regulated act of communication, rather than a pathological instance of self-injury. The 21st century is experiencing what some call a second “Tattoo Renaissance”. It will probably never be known exactly who were the first people to mark their skins, but what is definite is that tattooing has tattooed itself in history as a significant identifier.
