Tattoos have been around for a very long time. The instruments that they have been made with however, have changed immensely, especially within the different cultures and groups of people that have tattoos. Our society has just begun to accept tattoos as an art form and not frown upon people who have them, but that doesn’t mean that tattoos haven’t been a part of other society’s cultures.

Tattoos have been a part of many parts of society. They have been part of religion, ethnography and anthropology as found in pre-historical records. These records show that tattooing has been practiced since as early as 10,000 BC in almost every part of world. Every religion has tattooed themselves for some reason. Whether it served as a talisman, an enhancer of magic, for protection, for beauty, status or to show punishment and condemnation, tattoos have existed everywhere, especially in the aboriginal cultures of every country (The Primeval / Pre-Historic Records of Tattooing, n.d).

Although it in unclear exactly how early tattoo artists made tattoos, instruments specifically made for tattooing have been found in Egyptian pyramids as well as Moche, Chiribaya, Chimu and Tiwanaku burial sites in Peru. It has also been discovered that natives in the arctic would tattoo themselves using a thread and needle. At first the needle was made out of slivers of bone and kept in a piece of seal intestine for safekeeping. The ink was made out of a mixture of soot from seal oil lamps and urine from one of the town’s female elders. The thread was made out reindeer. Then they would tattoo themselves by inserting the needle into the skin 1/32 of an inch deep until they had created the desired design. This form of tattooing gradually started changing. A steel needle then replaced the bone needle and the soot-urine ink mix was replaced with a mixture of soot and graphite. It has been said that women were the main tattoo artists in most aboriginal cultures. They were also the ones that got tattooed the most (Krutak, 2008).

As people began to explore new places and got exposed to new things, tattoos also began to spread among non-third world countries. At first only sailors, pirates and convicts had tattoos. This did not make them very desirable among the middle class and upper class citizens. There were many ways to get a tattoo depending on who and where you were. One way to get a tattoo was to first carve out the design you wanted and then rub some ink in it and then repeat this process until you thought the ink and the scars were deep enough. Another way to get a tattoo was to dip the needle in ink and then pierce the skin. However, this method took much longer, but the risk of getting an infection was less (of course this could change depending on how clean the needle, the environment and the tattoo artist was).

When the Industrial Revolution began to happen, more and more people decided they wanted to get tattoos. Now it wasn’t just freaks in freak shows, exiles and military getting tattoos. Women wanted to get tattoos, teenagers and even some wealthy businessmen. These people wanted to go somewhere more sanitary and have their art done with something more reliable and possibly less painful. This is when the tattoo machine first appeared. It was originally supposed to be an engraving machine designed by Thomas Edison, but was later modified by Sean Cassey so that it would be able to introduce ink into the skin through a needle (Wikipedia, 2009).The new tattoo machine, along with single-use needles helped make tattoos more accepted in society and more hygienic.

Even though tattoos were still not greatly accepted in society, more and more people began to have them. Only recently have tattoos begun to change their image, but there are still some people who regard them as a disgusting from of self-mutilation. In recent years, tattoos have begun to change their image and are becoming more desirable especially among teenagers and middle-aged women. Unlike primeval societies, men are most commonly the tattoo artist and the recipient of the tattoo. Also, unlike the tattoo machine invented during the industrial revolution, today’s machine has two coils instead of one and automatically dispenses ink. Other than that, both machines are practically the same. Today’s machine is a little lighter than its precedent, but it still requires one to practice with it a lot in order for the tattoo artist to become accustomed to its weight, it’s a lot heavier than a pencil! Imagine having to hold the tattoo machine for hours while you are drawing something that will be permanently stuck on someone’s body. The tattoo machine has revolutionized tattooing in that now you can get practically anything and anywhere tattooed. The machine can regulate how deep the needle goes, so you can get even the most sensitive parts of your body tattooed. Tattoo ink has also changed so now you can get any colour or shade you want. There are also two types of places to go get a tattoo done. One of them is the tattoo parlor, which still glorifies the “rebellious” and outlaw-ish nature of the tattoo. The second type of place is the tattoo art studio. This place looks just like a hair salon and gives tattoos an extravagant aura (Levins, 1997). The latter is what is helping to change the social image tattoos have.

As I mentioned above, tattoos were mainly seen on mercenaries, gang members, prisoners and other “low life” people (in the “modern world”, excluding aboriginals). This image has begun to change mainly due to the fact that so may people are getting tattoos. Many celebrities and rock stars have tattoos and even though we hate to admit it, we are greatly influenced by the media. Many teenagers are getting tattoos because they think it is “cool” and want to be like their idols on television and magazines. Teenage girls get them because they are “sexy” in certain parts of the body. Men get tattoos so that they seem tough and manly. Surprisingly the most popular age group that is getting tattooed is middle-aged women. I suppose they are getting tattoos as a way to relive their younger fantasies and do something “rebellious” before they think it’s “too late” (Levins, 1997).

Older people still relate tattoos to gangs, but slowly they are becoming more accepted among today’s society. Soon, the majority of a certain generation will be tattooed, and then it will become an “accepted” art form.

Levins, Hoag (1997). The changing cultural status of the tattoo arts in America. Retrieved March 16th, 2009 from the Tattoo Arts in America website:

http://www.tattooartist.com/history.html

Krutak, Lars (2008). Many stitches for life: The antiquity of thread and needle tattooing. Retrieved March 16th, 2009 from http://www.larskrutak.com

/articles/Thread_Needle/ Modern tattoo culture:

Industrial revolution. (n.d) Retrieved March 17th, 2009 from http://tattoo.tc.node/92

Tattoo Machine. (March 8th, 2009). Wikipedia. Retrieved on March 15th, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo_machine

Tattooed mummies in Peru. (n.d) Retrieved March 15th, 2009, from http://www.tattoo.tc.node/13

Tattooing in ancient Egypt. (n.d) Retrieved March 14th, 2009, from http://www.tattoo.tc/node/12

The primeval/ pre-Historic records of tattooing. (n.d) Retrieved March 16th, 2009 from http://www.tattoo.tc/node/10