The History Of Tattoos

Even though it seems like everyone has a tattoo now. You may be surprised to find that only 14% of the population do. This is down from 16% in 2003.
Making the decision to get a tattoo is the first step. Second, you need to find a design.This can be a difficult task. Remember this is a permanent marking on your body. Now and forever more. It needs to be something you are comfortable with, as well as professionally drawn. Some people wait until they arrive at the tattoo shop.There they search through all of the hundreds of albums that the shop offers.Again, I cannot stress enough that this does not need to be a last minute decision. Below you will find links to sites that offers professionally drawn tattoo designs. Good luck!

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Chinese Tattoos

The history of tattooing is probably as old as mankind. It has served countless different purposes. Some of them are rites of passage, punishment, protection,and marks of fertility. As well as marks of outcasts such as slaves. The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian word tatu, which means to mark something.
The most famous historical figure found to have tattoos was Otzi the Iceman, going back around 3000 BCE. When thawed out, he was found to have 57 different symbols on his body. Some tribal cultures traditionally created tattoos by cutting designs into the skin and rubbing the resulting wound with ink, ashes or other agents. This was a very painful practice. There are mentions of tattooing in the Bible, indicating that it was practiced among the ancient peoples of the Middle East. One of the most notorious uses of tattooing was in ancient China where the offender was marked with three lines on the forehead, forming the character for "dog" after the third offense. During the Victorian era, the modern tattoo machine was first invented and patented, a design that has changed very little in style to this day.. The first closest known usage of the word in English was recorded in the diary of Captain James Cook in 1769 during his voyage to the Marquesas Islands. The text reads, "...they print signs on people's body and call this tattaw", referring to the Polynesian customs. Sailors on the voyage later introduced both the word and reintroduced the concept of tattooing to Europe. People have also been forcibly tattooed for various reasons. The best known example is the identification system for Jewish people in concentration camps during the Holocaust. We can thank the 1960's for the modern wave of tattoo interest. For the first time, people with fine art training began to work in the field of skin art, bringing with them all their art history knowledge. Over time it has also became an almost painless process.
We are now free to choose what type of tattoo design we would like to have on our bodies. Because of this people are bringing back some tribal tattoos that were thought to have been lost centuries ago. Most of the people that choose these types of tattoos have no affiiation with the ancient tribes.
The most important part of the process has to be the selection. What looks beautiful to you now. May not be so pretty in 10 years. Will you really want a cartoon bird on your calf when you're 45? Choose something that is meaningful to you. Next you will want to choose a tattoo artist that is inspected by your local health department. This will help to ensure that the instruments used in the process are properly sanitized. Now you are beginning the healing process. This is also very important. If you don't keep it clean while it is healing, it can get infected, just like any open wound. It consists of depositing pigment beneath the surface of the skin through a series of minute puncture wounds. Any time the skin is perforated, there is the risk of an infection from microbes. The use of anti bacterial soap is recommended when cleaning the area. Your artist should give you after care instructions. Finally wear your tattoo proudly!