Decorating the body has been a common practice since prehistoric times. The first people to adorn the body with jewelry and color were in the Upper Paleolithic era, more than 50,000 years ago. This signified a great change in thought regarding personal appearance and the awareness of the body. The first evidence of tattoos in history was from a corpse preserved in ice from the Bronze Age, approximately 5000 years ago. It has been speculated that it was not uncommon for people to permanently ink their skin for decoration as well as meaning far into the past.
The way we think about tattoos today is much different, however. Usually in our own modern society tattoos are a kind of argument of identity. They speak to the kind of person you are, or the kind of person you would like to be. I believe they also give the tattooed a feeling that they are visibly telling people of some important part of themselves or their lives. More often than not, tattoos have a deep meaning to their wearers that is not obvious to the people that see the art.
The tattoos are the subject and they argue a position to everyone that views them. They say something to a person and often affect the image others have of the wearer, probably largely on an unconscious level (for visible tattoos, that is). They help to form an identity in whatever way, and are an extreme and sometimes very beautiful way of self expression.
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ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how tattoos are starting to be a trend nowadays and everyone seems to forget the original purpose of it. The Japanese samurai tattoos and other Asian groups in the East use to tattoo patterns and things onto their skin to protect them from evil or show their status in society. Whether these tattoos were imprinted on prisoners, shogun samurais, or protection against evil spirits, people nowadays appreciate it as a form of art. Back in the old days, tattoos were seen as something more religious or they relate to religious meanings from a person's culture. Now we see it as a form of art and having a tattoo makes you look sort of badass as well and sometimes when you see a big tattoo on someone you wonder how long it took and the pain they went through just for that thing to be inked to your skin.
ReplyDeleteTattoos are definitely viewed differently today then they were back in the stone age. They used to show strength, greatness, wisdom and many other things. Today they still have meanings but not in the same context. I've heard that tears tattooed in the outside corner of the eye, each one is for a lost loved one. Some people get tattoos when they are drunk because they don't have complete control of their decisions. I believe women get tattoos because they think the are "cute". People who were in the military, specially Vietnam vets, usually get tattoos that usually deal with the war that they fought in. Over time the meanings of tattoos have really changed.
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