These methods of tattoo application are the reason for the name of this form of body modification. The word tattoo is derived from the Polynesian word 'ta', which means 'to strike something', and the Tahitian word 'tatau' which means 'to mark something'. Together the word tattoo means" to mark by striking." (DesignBoom).
The oldest known tattoo dates back to roughly 5,300 years ago. This was discovered in 1991 when an ancient corpse was found frozen in the ice of the Alps mountains between Austria and Italy. This was by far the best preserved body ever found from that time period and made headlines all over the world. The body which was dubbed by the media as 'ötzi the iceman', had a total of 57 tattoos which were located cross on the inside of the left knee, as six lines roughly a foot long above the kidneys andnumerous parallel lines on his ankles. (DesignBoom).
Tattoos were found in nearly every ancient culture. This included the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesians, Africans, Vikings, in India as well as in the Middle East. The reason and purpose for receiving a tattoo varies from culture to culture. In some cultures one tattoo represents their social status, rank or title. In other cultures tattoos have religious purposes and are believed to; be a means to protect their spiritual and physical health, contain magical powers or are tributes to a religious deity. Some ````cultures simply used them to as a permanent decoration, or are simply an art medium. Tattoos were also used to permanently label slaves or criminals. (DesignBoom).
In America, the culture of tattoos is a very diverse, complicated and ever changing one. In a society that had once looked at viewed tattoos as a sort of taboo, the number of people who are now getting tattoos is most certainly on the rise. According to medermislaserclinic.com, in the year 1936 a mere six percent of the United States population had more or more tattoos.