Isn't it amazing to think that some of the first tattoos were actually accidents. It is thought that tattoos started by accidentally rubbing soot or dirt into a wound and letting them heal that way. This does not sound very hygenic to me. I am glad I was able to get my tattoos in sterile environments. The healing process of a tattoo can be quite itchy and if you can't keep your hands off of it, you may have to go back to the drawing board and get it reinked. I could not imagine having to get this procedure done some 5000 years ago. Although tattooing is not particularly painful to me, it is to a good percentage of people. Scarification is a whole subject altoghther, although it's closely realted to the traditional tattoo, it is by no mean a practice I intent to investigate on my own body. Scarification is performed here in the United States even today and it can be seen on a variety of people, from your everyday Joe to high profile sports athletes. Here is a glimple into the history of tattooing, it is by no means a complete history review, but I think it's sufficent to see how and when tattooing started.

We can begin with "Otzi the Iceman" who was discovered on a mountain between Austria and Italy. He was the best preserved mummy at the time of his discovery in 1991. Otzi dates back some 5000 years, he had a total of 57 tattoos. One cross on the inside of his left knee, six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidneys and numerous parallel lines on the ankles. It is thought, due to the placement of the tattoos, they were for therapeutic purposes. This could also be looked at as an early form of acupuncture.

In 1948 archaeologist, Sergei Rudenko began excavating some 120 miles between Russia and China. During his excavation he found numerous mummies with tattoos that date back 2400 years ago. The tattoos are thought to represent a variety of animals. Whereas, the griffins and monsters are thought to have a magical significance. Some are thought to be purely decorative. The tattoos of these mummies are believed to reflect the status of the individual at the time they died

.It is known that there have been bodies recovered in Egypt dating back as early as the XI dynasty, These bodies also sported tattoos. In 1891, archaeologists discovered the mummified remains of Amunet, who lived around 2160 BC and 1994 BC. Amunet had several lines and dots tattooed about her body - grouping dots and/or dashes were aligned into abstract geometric patterns. This particular of art form was restricted to women only, and usually were associated with ritualistic practices. The Egyptians spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world during the 3rd and 4th pyramid building. They developed international relationships with natives from Crete, Greece, Persia and Arabia. By 2,000 BC the art of tattooing had stretched all the way to southeast Asia. They then brought it with them as they began moving into Japan.

In Japan the earliest evidence of tattooing was found in the form of clay figurines, which have their faces painted or engraved to represent tattoo marks. The oldest figurines of this kind have been recovered from tombs dated 3,000 BC or older, and many other such figurines have been found in tombs dating from the second and third millennia BC. These figurines served as "stand-ins" for living individuals who symbolically accompanied the dead on their journey into the unknown. For this reason, it is believed the tattoo markings had either religious or magical significance. The first written record of Japanese tattooing is found in a
Chinese Dynasty list compiled in 297 AD. It appeared the Japanese had become interested in tattooing mostly for its decorative attributes, as opposed to magical ones. The Japanese tattoo artists were the undisputed masters. Their use of colors, perspective, and imaginative designs gave the practice a whole new angle. The classic Japanese tattoo at the time was a full body tattoo.

In Polynesia it was believed that a person's spiritual power or life force, was displayed through their tattoo. In Samoa, the tradition of applying tattoo, or ‘tatau’, has long been an identifier of rank and title, from chiefs and their assistants, all the way to notable families in the proper birth order.The tattooing ceremonies for young chiefs, which were typically conducted at the onset of puberty, were elaborate affairs and were an essential part of their rise to a leadership role. The permanent marks left by the tattoo artists would forever demonstrate their endurance and dedication to cultural traditions. The first Europeans who set foot on Samoan soil were members of a 1787 French expedition. They were able to report that ‘the men have their thighs painted or tattooed in such a way that one would think them clothed, although they are almost naked’. The mythological origins of Samoan tattooing was transported to the then migrant communities of New Zealand, and later made there way into various international subcultures.

The Hawaiian people also had their traditional tattoo, known as ‘kakau’. It served as not only ornamentation and distinction, but also to guard their health and spiritual well-being. Intricate patterns, mimicking woven reeds, graced men's arms, legs, torso and face. Hawaiian women were typically tattooed on their hands, fingers, wrists and occasionally on their tongue.

In Africa, where people generally have darker skin, it is difficult to make coloured tattoos as we know them. However, they wanted to be tattooed, so they developed another technique, scarification's (this is not really tattooing, but it is related to tattooing). This is done by lifting the skin a little, and making a cut with a knife or some other sharp thing, then special sands or ashes were rubbed in to make raised scars in patterns on their bodies. It can feel like braille lettering. The method of scarification often followed local traditions.

In North America, the early Jesuit accounts testify to the widespread practice of tattooing among Native American Indians. Mostly among the Chickasaw warriors were recognized by their tattoos. While Ontario Iroquoians elaborate tattoos reflected high status. In north-west America, women's chins were tattooed to indicate marital status and group identity.

The first tattoo shop was set up in New York City in 1846 and began a tradition by tattooing military servicemen from both sides of the civil war. Samuel O'reilly invented the first electric tattooing machine in 1891.