Tattoos: A Timeless Expression of Individuality

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It seems that today people without tattoos are becoming the unique ones. Tattoos now have become part of a mainstream culture that attracts and entices many. Research shows that 45 million Americans have some sort of tattoo, and out of those people 27 percent regret getting it. In my opinion, I think tattoos are important because it allows people to express themselves. It allows people to remember their deceased loved ones. It can give someone confidence or let them feel a bit rebellious. Thousands of year ago people didn’t use tattoos like we do today. For a while it was believed that ancient Egyptians started the art of tattooing before Egypt itself was an organized society. “The earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C” (Lineberry). That changed when Ötzi the Iceman was found in the Italian-Austria border in 1991, and he pushed back the date a thousand years. Researchers still aren’t completely sure where tattooing really originated from. Ötzi the Iceman was a …show more content…

The Author of the article “Tattoos”, Cate Lineberry, believes that tattoos were actually used as an amulet to protect women during difficult childbirth, and this was because of the tattoo pattern and their placement. In addition, women placed tattoos on their abdomen and on top of thighs and breasts. The tattoos were a net like structure that would expand during pregnancy, on the abdomen area, and serve as a form of protection for the child. The protector of women during childbirth, Bes, was also tattooed on the inside of their thighs, and this would actually signify “safeguarding” the actual birth. This explains why it was most likely a female practice, and it can be dated back to c. 2000

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