The History of Tattooing
In today's society, tattooing is a popular way for one to express his or her ideas and thoughts. It is especially popular among gangs and groups as a way of identifying themselves. Although tattooing may be thought of as a new phenomenon, is has been used for many centuries by exotic tribes and ancient civilizations as a form of identity and cultural celebrations. Tattooing has a very diverse past including used for identity, status, and decorative purposes.The earliest known form of tattooing is dated back to Ancient Egypt. Slaves were marked for the pyramid that they were assigned to construct (Schwartz). Criminals were also marked and sometimes a family would mark themselves. With the growth of the Egyptian empire, so did the practice of tattooing (History of Tattoos). Many tribes in Asia Minor and southern Asia including the Chinese adopted the art form around 2,000 B.C (Schwartz). These tribes in Asia and China were known to tattoo themselves according to their religion or traditions. Tattoos were places around the wrists or fingers because it was believed to help ward away illnesses and bad luck. As time passed, tattooing became much more popular and not only were slaves and criminals marked, but also the
The Europeans rediscovered the practice when explorations brought them into contact with the Polynesians and American Indians. Today, tattooing is mainly used as a novelty and is not greatly important, but in the past is has been used as labels and decoration, for both good and evil. With each tribe, there were different tools for drawing on the tattoos. Needles were often left unclean after a job was finished would not be cleaned until the end of the day in a lot of shops. All classes of people are considering marking themselves for things that they believe in and even their person if interest. They would tattoo themselves for the god of their choice and believed that the god would bless them throughout their lives with happiness. Many could not eat solid foods for days during the healing process because of the painfulness of the wounds and infections. The actual process of tattooing was very painful for the tribes. This process which is often overlooked will only continue to evolve and maybe one day will become something that will be virtually pain-free something not so permanent. In 1891, Samuel O'Riley patented the first electric tattooing device. Small shops in busy port towns began to pop up in many locations in hopes of a good business venture (How Tattoos Work). This can often cause trouble for a person in large cities. Others would use rocks, sticks and sometimes each others fingernails. The Greeks also used tattooing but not as boldly as some of the other cultures. O'Riley's invention, the needle has been improved and now the needle moves a lot faster than at first.
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