We Humans Have a Long Relationship with Tattoos

Tattoos are common in modern times, but it's not a modern practice. What's our species obsession with tattooing our bodies?

Hiya!

Sometime around the age of twelve, I developed a habit of drawing on my arms at school when I was bored (which was often), a habit that lasted through high school. Every school day, I’d come home with my arms covered in notes and doodles. So, I suppose it’s no surprise that I got my first tattoo when I turned eighteen, another seven in the years since — and at least two more planned for the future.

I know many people who hem and haw about getting a tattoo, unable to decide on anything they love enough to be on them forever. Meanwhile, getting my tattoos felt less like a decision for me than a predetermined fact. But why do we Humans do it at all? And how long have we been tattooing our bodies?

Ötzi the Tattooed Trendsetter

I’m joking; I don’t know if he was a trendsetter, but Ötzi’s remains do have the earliest evidence of tattooing. I wrote about Ötzi before, but if you missed it, Ötzi is Europe’s most famous mummy. German hikers found him in the Alps, a mountainous region boarding today’s Italy and Switzerland, in 1991.

Since then, analysis showed Ötzi likely lived between 3350 and 3105 B.C.E. and was 45 years old when he died. Considering the icy conditions his remains were found in, it was long assumed Ötzi froze to death — but a recent study found a blow to his head and an arrow shot to his shoulder more likely caused his death. They also discovered a defensive wound in his right palm.

Anyway, while the frigid conditions didn’t kill him, they did help preserve at least 61 tattoos across Ötzi’s body consisting of various lines and simple geometric shapes. Analysis of Ötzi’s tattoos suggests they were made by piercing the skin and rubbing charcoal dust into the wounds.

Ötzi might be the oldest known mummy rocking ink, but he definitely isn’t the only one.

Psyche Out

Before a 2016 study officially titled Özti as the oldest tattooed mummy, some experts believed the title belonged to a mummy from the Chinchorro culture in what is now Chile. Unlike Ötzi’s dozens of tattoos, the Chinchorro mummy has only one — a collection of black dots beneath his nose, like a mustache.

The study, however, showed the Chinchorro mummy died between 2563 and 1972 B.C.E. — while Özti was at least 500 years older. Still, despite the simple dotted design, the Chinchorro mummy’s tattoo still confounds experts because he’s the only known mummy from his culture with ink. Of course, that may change with time as researchers make more discoveries.

Earliest Images

After Ötzi, the earliest evidence of tattoos was found on a pair of mummies in ancient Egypt that likely died between 3351 and 3017 B.C.E. The tattooed duo — one male and one female — were two of six Egyptian mummies discovered in 1900. However, the ink wasn’t discovered until 2018, when researchers re-examined the mummies using infrared imaging.

The researchers then realized that what looked like smudges on the mummy’s skin were actually tattoos. While Ötzi holds the title of the oldest tattooed mummy and rocked simple designs, the tattoos on the Egyptians are the earliest evidence of tattoos portraying images. A bull and sheep were tatted onto the male’s arm, while an “S”-like symbol and something resembling a staff decorated the female’s arm and shoulder.

Evidence shows that tattoos became more detailed, artistic, and symbolic as time passed in Egypt. A female mummy found in the Valley of the Kings that likely lived during the Ramesside period of 1292 to 1189 B.C.E. had over 30 diverse tattoos ranging from lotus flowers to the Eye of Horus.

Animals

Humans have practically always had relationships with other animals, and many tattoos found on mummies show this.

The Catacomb culture dominated today’s eastern Ukraine and southern Russia from around 2600 to 2400 B.C.E., and the mummified remains found near the Sea of Azov in today’s Russia show tattoos were part of the Catacomb culture. The tattoos discovered so far include images of snakes made using dyes made of plant materials.

During the Iron Age between the sixth and third centuries B.C.E., a mysterious, multi-ethnic society known as the Pazyryk culture also lived in today’s Russia but within the Altai Mountains. In fact, the culture was so ethnically diverse that some suggest Pazyryk people were recognized by their clothing and tattoos rather than skin tone or facial features.

Luckily for us, researchers found six intentionally created male and female mummies — as in, the remains did not mummify due to environmental conditions but were deliberately mummified.

The Pazyryk culture depended on horses to survive, and some people were even buried with them. A female Pazyryk mummy was found in 1993, covered in a “motif” of horse tattoos and buried alongside six bridled and saddled horses.

However, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), other Paxyryk mummies had images of additional local wildlife, including tigers, mountain sheep, and the Altai snow leopard. But some tattoos depict “mystical griffin­deer-ibex,” which resemble “feline predators with hook-like mouths.” UNESCO also states the mummies thought to be royalty are tatted “from head to toe.”

What Do They Mean?

Like any other art form, we want to know the meaning or purpose behind tattoos. Partly, I think, because art is a form of expression — whether social or personal — and understanding the intention behind a symbol or image helps us understand the person or culture that created it. Or, in the case of tattoos, that wear it.

Unfortunately, for the very same reason, we may never know the true intention behind or meaning of tattoos on mummified remains. Not that that stops us from hypothesizing about it.

For the most part, though, it seems researchers lump tattoo symbology into a few common categories — social status, skill set, ceremonial, spiritual, and in some cases, medicinal. For instance, Ötzi had simple lines and dots on his knee and ankle, which might be part of some sort of pain-management treatment.

Perspective Shift

People are always curious about my tattoos, and I’ve grown used to strangers commenting on them in public — but there’s one woman I won’t forget. She approached me in the produce section of a grocery store, white-haired and serious, and said, “Forgive me, but can I ask? I just don’t understand why someone would get a tattoo.”

I smiled and told her the reason probably changes for every person and every tattoo. She frowned, pointed to the tattoo on my forearm — a sonnet by D. Antoinette Foy — and asked to read it. So I held out my arm:

“Breathe deeply, until sweet air extinguishes the burn of fear in your lungs and every breath is a beautiful refusal to become anything less than infinite.”

I watched her face change from a frown to a thoughtful smile as she read. When she finished, she said, “Well, that is lovely. I can understand wanting to read that every day,” then just turned and walked away.

I can understand her confoundment, though. Why does our species feel driven to undergo the painful process of embedding ink into our skin?

If I were to guess, tattooing our bodies is an evolution of decorating our bodies with natural (and temporary) ingredients like mud, ash, or henna. Or perhaps our connection with art is such a part of us that we feel the need to literally make it so.

Then again, maybe someone living thousands of years ago looked at their skin and saw the same thing that others saw when looking at cave walls and open plains — a canvas. Or maybe not, but it sure is fun to think about.

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Photo by Alex Germany on Unsplash