Tattoos and Women: A History of the Tattoo in Ancient Egypt

Tattoos have been a part of human culture and expression for quite a lot longer than you might have thought. The earliest known tattoo art goes back over 5,000 years, and was found on the famous mummified Ice Man discovered in 1991. Before the Ice Man was discovered, however, it was well-known that tattooing was a popular practice in other ancient cultures-- and especially ancient Egypt.

Evidence that tattoo art were worn in ancient Egypt comes from figurines, tomb scenes, and mummified bodies. Interestingly enough, all of these tattoos were found on women or depictions of women; they simply weren’t used for men. Because of this, there was once a lot of doubt among archeologists (who were, of course, mostly male) about the validity of the tattoo as a true Egyptian cultural practice. Since all tattoos were found on women, it was assumed that they simply marked dancing girls or run-of-the-mill prostitutes… and they weren’t particularly important.

But as time passed and tattoo art and their owners were examined more carefully, it became clear that, though tattooing was restricted to ancient Egyptian women, it wasn’t restricted to women of poor or unimportant status. Many of the tattoo-bearing female mummies discovered by archeologists were found in buried in Deir el-Bahari, a burial area intended for high-status members of Egyptian society. This was not where simple, low-status prostitutes were buried. In fact, it was later discovered that one of the tattoo-bearing mummies buried here was a high priestess… and definitely not a woman of little importance.

And so the purpose of tattoo art in Egyptian culture was re-examined. Why were so many Egyptian women marked with them, and what did they mean? The answer to this lies in the tattoos themselves. The tattoos of Ancient Egyptian women were located almost exclusively over the breasts, stomach, and upper thigh. The tattoo design, rather than the flowers or beasts seen in later cultures, was generally a net-like pattern of dots across the skin, similar to the bead nets placed across mummies after being wrapped.

In essence, tattoo art in ancient Egypt was used for protection rather than decoration; in particular for protection during pregnancy and birth. During a pregnancy, the net-like pattern of the tattoo would expand across the stomach protectively, and figures of Bes, the ancient Egyptian god who protected women during childbirth, were tattooed on their thighs. All of this was meant to keep children healthy in the womb and protect both mother and child during pregnancy and childbirth.

To learn more about the history of tattoo art, including ancient tattooing tools and methods, visit the Smithsonian Magazine website at: http://www.smithsonianmag.com

Tattoo Art, Benjamin Franklin, Cleopatra, Diane Arbus

History of the Tattoo

Look around and you will see plenty of people in today’s society (especially, those 30 and younger) sporting works of art on their skin. Tattoo art has come a long way and their negative connotation has pretty much diminished. For those fascinated by this art form, it should be noted that tattoos are not a form of art that began recently.

It might be very interesting to know just how old the act of tattooing oneself is. In fact, one of the most startling discoveries of the now infamous Iceman in 1991, was that he had many tattoos on his skin. Carbon dating at the time put his age at about 5,200 years, making his tattoo art the oldest known in history.

Before this time, it was thought that the Egyptians started this art form from about 3,500 to 4,000 BC. While in recent decades and century’s men were the ones that would display their tattoos proudly, in Egypt tattoos were for females only. Tattoo art has been found on mummified female bodies in Egypt. However, this practice was usually limited to a certain class of women since these mummified remains were found in only elite burial grounds.

Tattoo art has a fascinating history and for those looking to learn much more, Smithsonian Magazine has a wonderful article regarding the history of tattoos. For more insight and interesting facts, visit us today at the following link: http://www.smithsonianmag.com

forbidden city, tattoo art, Wrigley Field, daredevil

From the Iceman to Ice-T: History of Tattoo Art

The pierced and leather-clad biker wandering, freshly-decorated, out of the local tattoo parlor may think he's doing something incredibly original. But he probably doesn’t realize that tattoo art has been a part of man’s history for over 5,000 years. And while an ancient man may not have had, say, an art tattoo of a Chevy pickup truck engraved into a burly bicep, the practice hasn’t changed all that much since it began.

The First Tattoos
But how far back, really, does the art tattoo go? The oldest tattoo art on record were found in 1991 on the body of the famous Iceman. At the time of his discovery, the Iceman was carbon dated at 5,200 years old… and he had enough tattoos to make him fit in easily in any biker bar.

Before the Iceman was discovered, it was thought that the oldest tattoo art came out of Egypt, starting in 4000-3500 B.C.. Interestingly, the practice in ancient Egypt was limited to women. Figurines of Egyptian women (and the mummified bodies of the women themselves) were often decorated with tattoos. The practice wasn’t limited to only one class of Egyptian woman; art tattoos were discovered even on women buried in even the most elite buying grounds.

Why Cultures Tattooed
In most ancient cultures, the tattoo art was a sign of status. In Altai, tattoos were used to symbolize nobility of birth; those that didn’t have them were “of low birth.” In Briton, too, the nobility wore art tattoos-- often of animals and beasts. The members of one tribe were so heavily tattooed that they were called the Picti, or “the painted people.”

However, tattoo art has also been used throughout ancient history as a method of healing or protection. In ancient Egypt, for example, tattoos were given to women mainly on specific parts of their bodies: the breasts, the stomach, and the thighs. Some believe that these tattoos were given to pregnant Egyptians for protection during pregnancy and birth.

The Iceman, too, is believed to have protective or therapeutic tattoo art. The surest sign of this is that the locations of his tattoos don’t match up with the concept of displaying status-- the Iceman is tattooed in difficult-to-display parts of his body. Specialists have discovered that the art tattoos on his lower back, knee, and ankle match strained spots where probably experienced pain during life.

We have always been fascinated by our bodies; almost every culture marks their beliefs on the body in some way. The tattoo art in particular has a fascinating history. To read more about modern and ancient tattooing, including the history behind modern tattooing, visit the Smithsonian Magazine website at the following link: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/