Inked

tattoo sega brand

Brand loyalty?

How quick are you to assign character traits to someone based on physical appearance? When you see ink are you assigning them to a (motorcycle club, prostitution ring, gang)? Before you open your mouth to change feet, let’s have a few (dozen) facts about tattoos.

After thousands of years, the rich tradition of body art has been promoted as a form of self-expression as well as a symbol of brotherhood. Looking at the history will explain why this art noveau will never truly fall out of style.

7,000 years ago

In 5,000 BC, the Japanese entombed the social elite and their rulers with figurines which were representative of people the decendent wished to accompany them into the afterlife. These miniature representations bore tattoos.

5,000 years ago

tattoo ice man

Earliest Tattoos Seen in Modern Times

A caveman found frozen in a block of ice, who lived around 3,300 BC, was found with 57 tattoos which used soot as ink. Although no records exist as to the meanings of the tattoos, archaeologists believe the bands around his wrist, ankle and on his back would have signified his rank in the tribe. The crosses behind his knee and on his arms and torso were likely familial or decorative tattoos.

3,500 years ago

Pharaoh Akehenaton’s statute from 1,400 BC shows he had a navel piercing. Darker skinned peoples, on whom tattoo pigments do not show well, have often used branding, scarification, piercing and other extreme body modifications in lieu of tattooing. The Mayan culture, for instance, hung metal objects between the eyes of children to make them cross-eyed.

2,000 years ago

greek vase tattooed woman

Adornment

The first written record of tattooing appeared in 297 AD in China. The text comments that the Japanese men of all ages had designs on their faces and bodies. This negative tone would be repeated for the next 14 centuries.

1,500 years ago

By 600 AD, Japan had adopted many Chinese beliefs and customs. One such belief was that tattooing was a sign of barbarism and should only be used as a punishment for a crime. Japan’s first criminal tattooing occurred in 720 AD for the crime of treason. Other island and South American countries had already adopted the custom of tattooing criminals on the face, wrist, hand or arms. Such tattoos were ostracizing.

Japanese criminal tattoos

Offense by design

In France, Constantine had banned tattooing of criminals at the behest of the Catholic Church, stating that it defiled the temple of the body which was created in God’s image. The church would quote Leviticus 19:28, which reads: Ye shall not make any cuttings on your flesh for the dead nor print any marks upon you. In 787 AD, Hadian the First would prohibit tattooing of any portion of the body. Yet, tattooing continued worldwide.

150 years ago

Native American Shape Shifter Tattoo

Native American Shape Shifter Tattoo

Even the threat of death has not stopped body art. Native Americans were commonly terminal after a tattooing where charcoal or indigo was rubbed into the holes made with a sharpen bird or fish bone, used as a needle. The first recorded death was in 1837, when a woman attempted to cover a tattoo of a man’s name on her arm. The resultant infection took her life.

Syphilis was first recorded as transmitted by tattooing in 1853, a time at which the disease was certainly fatal. The artist has his ink in a shell, and it dried while he worked. He spat into the shell to dilute the ink, and thus infected the virgin he tattooed. The resulting infection nearly necessitated the amputation of the arm.

This stigma would not hold tattooing down. In 1862, King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, visited Jerusalem and had a cross tattooed on his arm. He would be tattooed several more times after he took the throne. On a visit to Japan, he ordered his sons’ tutor to take the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of York (who later became King George the V) to be tattooed by the renowned tattoo artist Hori Chiyo and to the artist who had tattooed their father in Jerusalem on the way back to England.

Ringling Brothers Tattooed Couple

Tattooed People Were Traded.

Russian explorer George H. von Langsdorff began the ties between tattooing and the circus when he visited the cannibalistic Marquesas, off the coast of Peru. He discovered a French deserter, who during his time with the tribe had become extensively tattooed. Cabri enjoyed a brief theatrical career, but would be forced to compete with dog and pony shows to earn his wage.

Circuses often vied for and exchanged tattooed people for the next seventy years. Occasionally, these people would perform traditional circus acts of juggling, balancing or sword swallowing, but the majority would be held in the sideshow as freak attractions.

He wrote the book.

Japanese back tattoo cherry tree

Made More Beautiful To Mate

Wilhelm Joest is considered to be the authority on the history of tattooing. His 1887 publication of Tattooing, Scarring and Body Painting: A Contribution to Comparative Ethnology debunks the theory that tattooing and other body adornment was for religious or superstitious reasons.

Joest goes on to state that the only common factor in all of the disparate cultures’ enduring history of tattooing is vanity.

On closer examination, however, I found that the motives for tattooing were not religious, but were rather more closely related to the intimate association of the sexes. It is therefore easy to conclude that the primary motivation is that of personal adornment. The idea that one should undergo a painful operation for the sake of a god is completely inconsistent with the general attitude of the natives, who expect of their gods only benefits and, where possible, relief from pain.” (Joest)

Christian Tattoo

Christian Tattoo

Christians and Jews may choose which portion of the Bible to which to adhere. What Leviticus prohibits, Galatians, Deuteronomy, Isiah, Exodus and Revelation all profess. Many Christians tattooed Christ’s name or the cross on themselves. Moses scolds those who do not have the spot of God’s children. This allusion refers to the coins tattooed on the Semites, Scutt and Gotch, who worshiped Baal.

100 years ago

Modern day tattooing is done with machines, disposable needles and in a relatively sterile environment, greatly reducing the risk of displaying personal adornment. Samuel O’Reilly’s 1891 patent for the tattoo machine is an adaptation of Thomas Edison’s sign painting 1877 patent. Charles Wagner modified the design in 1904 and received the second tattoo machine patent.

tattoo gun

Relatively Unchanged

1929 would bring the tattoo machine thought of most. Filed by Percy Waters, this instrument would remain nearly unchanged until 1979. Carol Nightingale created an elaborate device that gave the artist a large latitude of control. To this day, inventors continue to tinker with the original design of Thomas Edison to create easier ways of tattooing.

Today

Tattoo artists and the tattooed congregate in conventions, circulate magazines and e-zines about tattoos and constantly refine the trade to bring to life what was once dubbed “the common man’s art”. Tattoos today are brilliantly colored and terrifically detailed. This ancient art form should survive to the end of man’s days on this earth.

Sources:
Villanova
American Museum of Natural History
Tattoo Archive
Tattooing, Scarring and Body Painting: A Contribution to Comparative Ethnology: Joest, Wilhelm, 1887
Tattoo History: A Source Book: Gilbert, Steven G., Juno Books
Bible

~~~~~~~~~~

What do your tattoos signify? How do they contribute to your identity? If you could have any tattoo, which design would you choose?


© Red Dwyer 2008-2012
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48 Comments

  1. I have no tats myself, but I have many friends who are covered in body art as it is a done thing amongst older working men, but my new neighbour Tony is covered in prison tats which are something else again!!!

    I have some artificial tattoo’s I considered wearing, but decided the pain of the real thing would be too much… 🙂

    Love and hugs!

    Prenin.

    Reply
    • There is a good mix in my life of inked and uninked. I have seen my fair share of prison tatts dating all the way back to Korean War vets who did the marks themselves as a way to occupy their time. Most suffer based on a lack of proper equipment and the wrong types of pigments.

      {HUGZ}
      Red.

      Reply
  2. I enjoyed learning about the history of tattoos. I have a tattoo of a heart on my upper back. The swirls around the heart are a reminder that my love influences others and today have an added significance of reminding me to open up my own heart.

    Reply
  3. A very interesting posting about tattoos, I guess there will always be the for and against thoughts of having them done, maybe because of the so called pain factor? I agree that there is a certain amount of pain over the thinner areas, as you already mentioned gaining a little weight where boned areas are concerned.

    Yes there is some discomfort but it is more of a burning sensation, though not enough pain to make one pull away you understand, but it is something that each person that has had a tattoo will understand.

    I think that some would say it is too painful, while others don’t think that it hurts at all, and so it comes down to personal experiences but I rather like tattoos, however I have not had one done since the mid 1980’s but would definitely have more if the prices of them were not so ridiculous these days 🙂 lol

    Have a wonderful
    rest of evening Red 🙂

    Androgoth XXx

    Reply
    • Those who I know with them span the gamut on the pain issue. One likened it to chewing ground glass, yet could not accurately pinpoint the experience from whence she spoke. Another one I know fell asleep whilst hers was done. It was a very large tattoo on her back. With my tremendous threshold for pain, I am pretty certain I shall withstand it fine.

      As to the prices…early estimates I have gotten are putting the one I want in the ballpark of $750-1,000. Perhaps, for my second mid-life crisis. 😉
      Red.

      Reply
      • Yes well I will pass on that one for it is far
        too expensive for my tastes… Well maybe? 🙂 lol

        You could try a much smaller
        version to test it out first 🙂 😉

        Androgoth XXx

        Reply
        • To downsize it would be to neglect portions which have meaning. It will be something which will be work in progress for at least two healings before it is complete. Gives me time to garner funds 😉

          Reply
  4. Wow that’s expensive! I don’ have any and don’t want any. My oldest son has several, however. One on his arm is a heart with a weird skull in it. I keep trying to convince him to have it inked over with mom or I love mom, but he hasn’t done so yet for some unknown reason. Not a fan, but tatting seems to be an everymans (that’s generic for everybody ladies) thing, so you (as always you should) have to get to know the person before assigning them to a category (if you must assign at all). Angie

    Reply
    • That is a very healthy attitude. My daughter is building a back piece which is a tribute to her family. She will be having the first segment touched up soon, as it is necessary to have them redone after the first fade. She is holding to the tradition, though. The only names she will have tattooed are those of the dead, as lore goes, tattooing the name of someone alive means the end of the relationship (generally through death, but also break up).

      Reply
  5. 30 yrs: (yin-yang symbol inside of a flaming sun)
    This would be what most refer to as a tramp stamp. I got this a few months after having my son and while dealing with a horrible husband. It was to remind me of my weaknesses/strengths, good/bad and basic ability to be all things and keep thriving like the blazing sun.
    35 yrs while vacationing in Florida: (the name cowboy with the “oy” at the end wrapped in a heart) This is the nickname for my boyfriend (not the football team). i always tease him that he needs no one and lacks emotion…like a cowboy. Incidently…The artist said that Jenna James is the godmother of his son. He also told us quite a few explicit stories while in his establishment.
    39 yrs while vacationing in North Carolina: two cartoon faces of my kids, with their names and birthdates
    41 yrs: cartoon face of my third child
    **All are hidden unless I wear a bikini or well, nothing I guess, but then only hubby gets to see.

    Reply
    • Mine is going to be an invitation only tatt. But it will be huge. It will probably be the end of the bikini for me, as it will not be something I will be willing to explain to any passerby on the beach. Plus, touching up something that big after too much sun will be atrociously expensive.

      Reply
  6. They do cost a fortune, especially if you are going big.

    Reply
  7. I have 15 all on my arms. I never really planned any particular style so each time I went to a tattoo studio I just went through their designs & picked what I liked at the time. In hindsight I wish I’d gave it more thought at the beginning & got Japanese style sleeves as I really like the Japanese designs.

    Reply
  8. Edwin

     /  May 29, 2013

    i’m curious about the picture with japanese arms and faces numbered 1 to 18. do you have more info about those tattoos ? where they made to peculiar offenses ?
    thanks for your answer : i have one that looks almost like one of them.

    Reply
    • Yes. They indicate offense, which degree offense (first offense, second offense) and generally where they were confined for such offenses. You would need to have someone translate the markers beneath the pictures to understand them all. Thank you for stopping by M3.

      Reply
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