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indians-tattoos-history
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History of Tattoos
Most people really have no clue when it comes to recognizing the history behind the tattoos that they get. Although the history of that star tattoo that is popular in the area or the happy face that many people seem to love is not rooted in something thousands of years old, the art of tattooing that has made those tattoo choices possible in the first place does date back to times that are that old and even older in some cases.
The Oldest Tattoo
There is actually a large section of the historical community that finds interest in studying the history of tattoos. Remember that before they were items that were part of the consumer culture in the western world, tattoos were tribal in nature. For that reason, there are many people that appear to have tattoos of a tribal nature dating back thousands of years.
Although it is impossible to determine exactly when the first tattoo was created, the fact of the matter is that many remains have been found that are thousands of years old and contain tattoos on parts of the remains that were found. Specifically, members of tribal factions dating back at least seven thousand years have been found to have simplistic tattoos on their bodies and there will likely be finds even older than that as people continue to look for more occurrences of tattoos in times of ancient history.
Of course, that is only ancient western tattoos. If you open things up to the whole world, you can go back ten thousand years to Japanese culture at the time that also incorporated tattoos as things that the nobles of the time were able to obtain.
The Modern Tattoo Designs
The modern tattoo is quite a bit different from the older tattoos as far as origins are concerned. There is debate in this area as well regarding the actual history of the modern tattoo. Some would argue that the Celtic tribes that lived around two thousand years ago were the basis for modern tattoo artwork. However, there will be others that point out that the Polynesian work appears to have the most direct similar influence on the modern tattoo artwork and therefore it is most likely the basis for the modern tattoo. Most historians would agree with the idea that the modern tattoo and the culture that accompanies it were started in the Polynesian world some two hundred years ago.
At this point, that tattoo work, or “tatau” as it was known to the local cultures at the time, was discovered by European explorers. Those explorers then started the custom on their own, causing tattoos to eventually become commonplace amongst the crew of sailing vessels around the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. From there, tattoos went from being something that the explorers and sailors had to something that the rebellious subculture used as a way to express their rebelliousness. It is only within the last decade or so that tattoos as a form of artistic expression have started to evolve from that point to the endpoint of being universally accepted within mainstream society.
Most people really have no clue when it comes to recognizing the history behind the tattoos that they get. Although the history of that star tattoo that is popular in the area or the happy face that many people seem to love is not rooted in something thousands of years old, the art of tattooing that has made those tattoo choices possible in the first place does date back to times that are that old and even older in some cases.
The Oldest Tattoo
There is actually a large section of the historical community that finds interest in studying the history of tattoos. Remember that before they were items that were part of the consumer culture in the western world, tattoos were tribal in nature. For that reason, there are many people that appear to have tattoos of a tribal nature dating back thousands of years.
Although it is impossible to determine exactly when the first tattoo was created, the fact of the matter is that many remains have been found that are thousands of years old and contain tattoos on parts of the remains that were found. Specifically, members of tribal factions dating back at least seven thousand years have been found to have simplistic tattoos on their bodies and there will likely be finds even older than that as people continue to look for more occurrences of tattoos in times of ancient history.
Of course, that is only ancient western tattoos. If you open things up to the whole world, you can go back ten thousand years to Japanese culture at the time that also incorporated tattoos as things that the nobles of the time were able to obtain.
The Modern Tattoo Designs
The modern tattoo is quite a bit different from the older tattoos as far as origins are concerned. There is debate in this area as well regarding the actual history of the modern tattoo. Some would argue that the Celtic tribes that lived around two thousand years ago were the basis for modern tattoo artwork. However, there will be others that point out that the Polynesian work appears to have the most direct similar influence on the modern tattoo artwork and therefore it is most likely the basis for the modern tattoo. Most historians would agree with the idea that the modern tattoo and the culture that accompanies it were started in the Polynesian world some two hundred years ago.
At this point, that tattoo work, or “tatau” as it was known to the local cultures at the time, was discovered by European explorers. Those explorers then started the custom on their own, causing tattoos to eventually become commonplace amongst the crew of sailing vessels around the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. From there, tattoos went from being something that the explorers and sailors had to something that the rebellious subculture used as a way to express their rebelliousness. It is only within the last decade or so that tattoos as a form of artistic expression have started to evolve from that point to the endpoint of being universally accepted within mainstream society.