Art of Tattooing in North America and Europe Essay

Art of Tattooing in North America and Europe - Essay Example In 1991, a five thousand year old frozen body of a man was discovered on a mountain between Austria and Italy. This body displayed in all 58 tattoos though these were only simple dots and little lines. The oldest known picture tattoos were found when archeologists, just after the Second World War, excavated a long row of graves of frozen and perfectly preserved bodies in the Altai Mountains of Southern Siberia. These were the bodies of the Scythians who were a nomadic group renowned for their creativity. In comparison, the Chieftain's tattoos represented different totem and game animals. The Vikings, who travelled up the Russian rivers and met the Scythians in Scandinavia, were influenced by the Scythians in the way they worked their crafts and tattoos. The body art among the Scythians and the Vikings reflected the designs found in their wood carvings, embroidery, weaving, leather and metal work. The significance of tattoos on a body has undergone several changes over the centuries. The practice of tattooing has meant different things in different cultures. Decoration appears to have been the most common motive for tattooing during the entire period. It was stated by Professor Konrad Spindler of Innsbruck University that the tattoo marks on the body of the Bronze Age man found in 1991 suggested that they were probably applied for therapeutic reasons. In some cultures, tattoos also served as identification of the wearer's rank or status in a group. For example, the early Romans tattooed slaves and criminals. Tahitian tattoos served as rites of passage, telling the history of the wearer's life. Boys reaching manhood received one tattoo to mark the occasion, while men had another style done when they married. Among a tribe named Roro tribes, when a girl was considered to be of marriageable age, the buttocks, the legs and the face were tattooed (Hambly, 31). Instances of body ma rking deemed to be of religious import were those connected with ideas of survival after death, prayer, sacrifice and communion (Hambly, 26). Later on, Sailors travelling to exotic foreign lands began to collect tattoos as souvenirs of their journeys resulting in establishment of tattoo parlors in port cities around the globe. In the 1900s, cosmetic tattooing became popular in the United States using it as blush for cheeks, color for the lips and eyeliners. With the World War, the flash art images changed to those of bravery and wartime icons. (https://www.msu.edu/krcmari1/individual/world.html) It is not only the motive behind tattooing that has changed over the years, but also has the designs and methods of performing this art. In North and South America, many Indian tribes routinely tattooed the body or the face by simple pricking, and some tribes in California introduced color into scratches. In order to be considered courageous and feared by their enemies, they would use sharpened awls or thorns or the bone of a bird or a fish to engrave or decorate their bodies. While the punctures which form the designs were fresh and bleeding, they would rub in charcoal or some other black color which mixed with the blood and penetrated the