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/