Fashionable Tattoo History

Fashion is most often mistaken to just be made up by the style of clothes you wear or the accessories you choose to add to your outfits. Fashion can also be mistaken as being trendy and having a hot hair styles. While these can be an accurate description about fashion it doesn't give the full understanding of what fashion completely encompasses. Fashion is all about the appearance and message that you proclaim from the clothes, accessories, hair style and trendy clothes you wear.

The Indian (Asian) culture promotes the wearing of a dot on women's foreheads which is called the 'bindi'. This is very similar to the same kind of body painting that is prevalent in other countries like Egypt; which they use a thing called kohl to make their eyes look more attractive. While these two forms of body art are cultural expressions of beauty there has been another form of body art which is gaining popularity to do the same in which the kohl and bindi do: tattoos

The use of tattoo has been around for many, many years, some would say almost since the existence of mankind have people been tattooing themselves or branding their livestock or slaves.

Tattoos have been found in the tombs of the Egyptian princes' and also among some of the mummies of young girls. Archeologists have found these accounts but still deduct that the origin of the tattoo actually originated more in the European continent.

Egyptians have used the tattoo as a tool to identify the individual's religion or tribe. The Romans and the Greeks, tattooed themselves as slaves and this served as a form of punishment to them. Hindus (an Indian religion) used a temporary tattoo called 'henna' to celebrate marriages and also other occasions.

This practice of using Henna is also popular in the middle-eastern countries. Such practices are still prevalent in many parts of the world in either prominent or subtle way.

The tattoo has become more fashionable and is something that can help you to present a beautiful appearance and also give direct message to other about who you are and what you are all about. The rich history that tattoo have make it even one of the best ways you can be fashionable in todays culture.

Tattoo History

Tattoos are a very old form of body art that go back to ancient times when many cultures used them. Some historians say that tattoos go back 5000 years, while others believe they go back well over 10000 years.


The earliest known evidence of tattooing goes back to markings found on the mummified human body that was discovered in the Alp Mountains in 1991. 5300 years old Oetzi - The Tyrolean Iceman, the oldest European mummified human, was tattooed. 58 tattoos, which appeared to serve more than a simple decorative function as some of them represent known pressure or acupuncture points, has been found on his body. The fact that he was tattooed was not a coincidence and it was probably perfectly normal for people of his time to be tattooed.


Ancient Egypt where wall paintings as old as 2000 BC have been suggesting the use of tattoos is today generally accepted as the cradle of tattoo art. Tattoos have been found on a small number of female mummies. The example of this are the mummified remains of a priestess of the goddess Hathor who lived some time between 2160 BC and 1994 BC.


When the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread to the civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia. Around 2000 BC it spread to China. The Mayans were also known to have tattoos, as were the Aztecs and Incas. Tattooing became widespread among Polynesian peoples, and among certain tribal groups in the Philippines, Borneo, Africa, North America, and Japan.


The purpose of tattooing varied from culture to culture. The Greeks for example used it for communication among spies. Romans use them to mark criminals and slaves. Tahitian tattoos served as rites of passage, telling the history of the wearer's life. Tattoos served as symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, amulets and talismans, protection, and so on.


Tattooing was rediscovered by Europeans when they came into contact with Polynesians and American Indians.


About the word - Tattoo


The word - tattoo originates from the Tahitian word ta-tau, meaning - to make a mark. Ta-tau means to mark or puncture the skin and is a reduplicated form of the word - ta - meaning - to strike. Tattauing or tattooing was a word introduced to Europe by Captain James Cook after his 1769 expedition to the South Pacific.


The history of tattoo began thousands of years ago and is as diverse as the people who had them. Today, tattooing is becoming more popular and accepted than it has ever been.