Tattoos

A tattoo is a form of body modification, made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. The first written reference to the word, "tattoo" (or Samoan "Tatau") appears in the journal of Joseph Banks, the naturalist aboard Captain Cook's ship the HMS Endeavour:Tattooing has been practiced for centuries in many cultures spread throughout the world.The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian tatau. In Tahitian, tatu." The word tatau was introduced as a loan word into English, the pronunciation being changed to conform to English phonology as "tattoo".Sailors on later voyages both introduced the word and reintroduced the concept of tattooing to Europe.Tattoo enthusiasts may refer to tattoos as "ink", "tats", "art", "pieces", or "work"; and to the tattooists as "artists".Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice at least since Neolithic times. Ötzi the Iceman, dating from the fourth to fifth millennium BC, was found in the Ötz valley in the Alps and had some 57 carbon tattoos consisting of simple dots and lines on his lower spine, behind his left knee, and on his right ankle. These tattoos were thought to be a form of healing because of their placement which resembles acupuncture.According to George Orwell, coal miners could develop characteristic tattoos owing to coal dust getting into wounds.This can also occur with substances like gunpowder.



Tattoos
Tattoos
Tattoos
Tattoos