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A Brief History of Tattooing
The word "tattoo" is thought to have originated from the Italian term "tatau" which means, literally, "to mark something". Tattooing has been a key part of human culture around the world for over 5000 years, and the cultural reasons and traditions around tattooing are as varied as the tattoo designs themselves.
Tattoos from culture to culture can represent a wide variety of meanings, both personal and public. Traditionally and historically, designs could record a person's social class, accomplishments, tribal identity, personal totems or spirits, represent powerful symbols calling for luck and prestige, or even be used to help ward off illness. There were some cultures, too, that simply decorated their bodies in order to meet standards of beauty and attractiveness.
In some remote parts of the world, tattooing is still practiced in traditional methods. There has been a revival in the modern world in practicing ancient techniques or variations of them as younger generations seek to identify themselves with ancestors and cultural history.
Primitive tattoo kits were hardly more than a few simple tools made from every day items. Most early tattoo supplies included bone or bronze needles, rakes or points, thread, and tattoo ink made from soot, corroded iron and bronze dust, or dyes made directly from plant oil or parts. Early tattoo needles were simply either coated with the ink and repeatedly driven into the skin to form the desired design, or drawn through the skin with an attached piece of coated thread that would leave a remaining mark.
Later tattoo instruments made the process somewhat less painful, faster and more hygienically safe, but many tattoo traditionalists seek to revive older methods using the tools and inks of their ancestors. This practice has been outlawed in some countries due to the dangers associated with it.
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