Posted on 01/03/2007 3:20:58 PM PST by blam
Tattoos - The Ancient and Mysterious History
By Cate Lineberry
Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment. Joann Fletcher, research fellow in the department of archaeology at the University of York in Britain, describes the history of tattoos and their cultural significance to people around the world, from the famous " Iceman," a 5,200-year-old frozen mummy, to today’s Maori.
What is the earliest evidence of tattoos?
In terms of tattoos on actual bodies, the earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C. But following the more recent discovery of the Iceman from the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and his tattoo patterns, this date has been pushed back a further thousand years when he was carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old.
Can you describe the tattoos on the Iceman and their significance?
Following discussions with my colleague Professor Don Brothwell of the University of York, one of the specialists who examined him, the distribution of the tattooed dots and small crosses on his lower spine and right knee and ankle joints correspond to areas of strain-induced degeneration, with the suggestion that they may have been applied to alleviate joint pain and were therefore essentially therapeutic. This would also explain their somewhat 'random' distribution in areas of the body which would not have been that easy to display had they been applied as a form of status marker.
What is the evidence that ancient Egyptians had tattoos?
(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmagazine.com ...
GGG Ping.
Now HERE is a tattoo (courtesy of doomonyou)
Content WARNING - Gross
img src = http://i18.tinypic.com/2r5gg1f.jpg
That's a good look for him.
I errr..ummm..accidently found the website where miss spears forgot part of her wardrobe and I could no longer see that tattoo.....
funny thing....I did see other stuff of interest though.
WOW, glad she had that picture taken then, look at the one Drudge has been running for the NOW shot.
(The other Deacons at our Church will love it.)
"Has anybody seen my hand?"
who's that?
Britney Spears, Rolling Stone shoot, October 2003.
Uh.....hmmmmm.......errr......
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
