The historical origins of the Tattoo Body Art Designs. Who had the first tattoo? Nobody knows.
The word is derived from the Samoan or Polynesian word "tatau". The first written reference to tattoos can be found in the book written by the naturalist Joseph Banks, who accompanied Captain James Cook on his explorations in 1700. But body art designs have been around since the dawn of mankind.
The mummified body of a man who lived in the Alps about 5300 years ago was tattooed with points and lines. Egyptian mummies from around the same time bring intricate artwork on their arms.
The Picts, people who lived in Scotland during the iron age and early Middle Ages, were famous for their tattoos. At that time, there was no specific word for drawings in Latin or English at the beginning. Julius Caesar described the Picts as "scarified."
In Japan, the art of the tattoo is believed to have originated about 10,000 years ago. Yet it is the Polynesian exploration that has the merit of bringing the word and practice to Western societies.
What was the reason of historic tattoo? The goal varies from one culture to another.
Permanent body art design were an element of traditional healing, similar to what we know today as acupuncture. In some cultures, tattoos were used to recognize a person's status or rank.
A warrior can receive an intricate design as a gift to show courage. At the other extreme, a thief or a prisoner could be tattooed to his crime. In some societies, the marks were used to inform the community that a person was an outcast ... someone must be avoided.
In modern times, specific design body art were used to show membership in a gang or to track gang members "realizations". For this reason, the tattoo is forbidden in prisons of the United States.
Maori tattoo is still used as a symbol to show that the person belongs to culture. It is a statement of pride and belonging. The same holds true for tattoos commonly seen among the Samoan team.
In most ancient cultures, body art designs have been seen as a matter of personal choice, a simple decorative element. The spread of the Christian religion changed things a bit. Some Christians feel tattoos are sinful, because of Leviticus 19:28: "Don't cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark the skin with tattoos. I am the Lord. "