Prehistoric Tattoos

• Mummified tattooed bodies from the prehistoric era have been found all over northern Europe and Russia. The oldest of these is Otzi the Iceman, which dates to 3300 B.C., according to tattoo site Ayushveda. Otzi had 57 tattoos drawn all over his body. Other mummies found in Siberia dating to 2400 B.C. had tattoos of animals and monsters and are believed to have had magical significance.
  
  

Egypt

• The first evidence of tattooing in ancient Egypt was found in 1891 when the 4,000-year-old mummified body of the Amunet priestess of Hathor was pulled from her tomb. The priestess had several tattoos of dots and dashes aligned in geometrical patterns across her torso. The discovery of the body was concrete proof of the earliest known tattoo culture. Nevertheless, tattooing in Egypt is expected to date far earlier.
  
  

Japan

• Japan's tattoo culture is said to date back to 10000 B.C. The first evidence of the culture, however, can be found on statues collected from tombs dating to around 3000 B.C. and which show ink designs around the mouths that are believed to have a religious significance. It is likely that the person buried with the figures bared identical tattoos, as the statues were supposed to serve as stand-ins for certain tasks while they accompanied the person to the world of the dead. In 720 A.D. tattoos began to be used in Japan to punish and identify criminals and by the 17th century the practice was widespread. Those baring such tattoos (often on the face or arms) were rejected by their families and ostracized in the streets. To combat this, criminals would often cover the mark with a full body suit of tattoos, favored by their ancestors a thousand years before.
  
  

South Pacific

• The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian word tatu, which means to mark something. Tattooing has and still enjoys enormous cultural significance to the people of the south pacific. In Polynesia it is believed that a person's mana (spiritual life force) is displayed through tattoos. In Samoa, tattooing was used to mark the rank and title of people in the tribe and was typically done at the first signs of puberty.
  
  

The West

• Tattoos first appeared to people of the west in 1787 when a French expedition landed in Samoa. The sailors were amazed to find islanders covered in tattoos, so much so they first mistook the markings for clothes. In the 18th century, a British expedition brought back a Polynesian man and he became a huge attraction. The man captured the public's imagination and soon the British were having tattoos done in discrete areas of the body. By the 19th century, the custom reached America.