google images  Early Egyptian Tattooing Written records, physical remains, and works of art relevant to egyptian tattoo have been ignored by earlier egyptologists.Today, we know that there have been bodies recovered dating to as early XI dynasty exhibiting the art form of tattoo. In 1891, archaeologists discovered the mummified remains of Amunet, a priestess of the goddess hathor, at Thebes who lived some time between 2160 BC and 1994 BC. This female mummy displayed several lines and dots tattooed about her body - grouping dots and dashes were aligned into geometric patterns. This art form was restricted to women only, and usually these women were associated with ritualistic practice. The Egyptians spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world. The pyramid-building third and fourth dynasties of egypt developed international nations with Crete, Greece, Persia,and Arabia. By 2,000 BC the art of tattooing had stretched out all the way to Southeast Asia . The Ainu (western asian nomads) then brought it with them as they moved to japan. (Source 3) India
Women in India have practiced the art of tattooing since at least the fifteenth century. Indigenous tribal groups use tattoos to mark individual identity, tribal identity, their marriage status, and at times ritual status. Tattoos were used to sometimes beautify an individual. Girls are tattooed starting at the age of seven or eight, starting with their forearms and hands. Later in their lives their feet, calves, neck, and chest are tattooed. Dots and lines are used to create images of gods, animals, plants, and domestic images. Symmetrical patterns, birds, and animals are all used as well. Among the Naga of the Northeast India, women were tattooed on the back of the knee if they were married, and men wore facial tattoos that demonstrated their achievements in warfare and headhunting. (Source 3)
Inuit
Inuit is a term used for the indigenous peoples along the Arctic coasts of Siberia, Alaska, Greenland, and Canada. Tattooing has been practiced among the Inuit for at least 3,500 years according to archeological evidence. Tattooing was used to both individualize a person or worn by all members of a clan or group. Tattooing was also used as a form to act as a magical protection against a variety of illnesses. Elderly women did the tattooing by using bone or ivory needles threaded with needles blackened with soot. The elderly women would sew the thread through the skin leaving the black color in the skin. This skill was developed through sewing clothing. The first European descriptions of this form of tattooing date to mid-sixteenth century, and describe the elderly women tattooing women’s faces with geometric patterns and lines mostly on the forehead, cheeks, and especially the chin. In other tribes chin tattooing was done after puberty and often showed if a woman was marriageable, and were thought to protect women from their enemies. These chin tattoos also showed if a woman was able to endure pain, which was an attractive trait in women in these tribes. Women also received tattoos on their thighs to make childbirth easier and to show infants something beautiful when they emerged in the world. Men and women also wore small dot tattoos on the joints of the body for mourning and to protect them from evil during a funeral. This was because they believed spirits entered the body through the joints.
(Source 3) Japan  Japan is known to have one of the oldest tattooing traditions in the world that goes back to the Jomon period of 10,000 BC to 300 BC. Ainu women, an ethnic group living on an island at the northernmost end of Japan, have worn upper lip tattoos for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. Farmers in the Yayoi period of 300 BC to AD 300 wore tattoos of religious symbols to ward off evil spirits. In the Greco-Roman world tattoos in the Kofan period of AD 300 to 600 became associated with criminality. Tattoos were used to punish and identify criminals with the mark of their specific crime, and were used to identify untouchable cases. In the late Edo period of 1804 to 1868 modern decorative tattooing known as horimono developed in Edo (now Tokyo). The modern full body tattoo covering the the front and back of the torso, and the arms and legs took from two to five years to complete, and cost the equivalent of $20,000 to $50,000. This form of tattooing formed at the end of the Edo period. Images used in these giant tattoos ranged from symbolic images of carp fish, dragons, floral designs, and religious icons, all of which had symbolic meanings. Tattooing at this time was practiced by a large part of the lower class, in particular, firefighters. Firefighters used tattoos to show masculinity and group solidarity. Japanese authorities disapproved tattooing at this time. As westerners started to visit Japan during the Meji era of 1868 to the present time, tattoos became forbidden so that japan would not seem backward to the outside world. Even though this occurred outlaws, gamblers, and the Yakuza (the Japanese mafia) continued to wear and get new tattoos. Travellers from the western world soon began to notice the different tattoos in Japan and many foreigners, primarily sailors, began to get Japanese tattoos primarily because they were so much more beautiful and finely executed compared to Western world tattoos. (Source 3)
Tattoo Statistics 1. 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. 2. The average cost of a large tattoo is $150.00 a hour. 3. The average cost of a small tattoo is $45.00 a hour. 4. 17% of people who have a tattoo say they have some regret after getting their tattoo. 5. 14% of the American population have at least one tattoo. 6. 40% of U.S. adults between the ages of 26-40 have at least one tattoo. (Source 4)
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