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A History of the Tools and Methods Used in Tattooing
There is an art form that many of us know about today, we see it everywhere, and on many different walks of life. People get this art for many different reasons; some people display their artwork proudly and others chose to keep in places where only they may ever see. Many people have them, your mother, your brother, sister, cousin, father, maybe even you have one. It is a way to express yourself to let others know about you and who you are. This form of artwork has survived for thousands of years, and over these years tools used to make this artwork have evolved. This art form is called tattooing; and tools used to administer these tattoos have had many different names and many different tools. Tattooing has been around since the earliest civilizations; including the Japanese and the Polynesian, but the art was refined by the western method.
The earliest tattoo known to man dates back to around 5,200 years ago, this tattoo was discovered on the frozen body of an Iceman. Scientists discovered the Iceman back in 1991; the Iceman was recovered from an area of the Italian-Austrian border. Lineberry (2007) has said that, the tools that scientists have found for tattooing date back to c. 3,000 B.C. These tools consist of sharp point sets that were attached to a wooden handle. Scientists have also discovered a small set of bronze tools that seem to resemble wide, flattened needles, which are similar to the tools that have been used for tattooing. This little set of instruments can be dated back to c. 1,450 B.C., where they were discovered in the ancient town of Gurob, as stated by Lineberry (2007).
Tools very similar to these were discovered and found to be used by ancient women who administered tattoos to others, as told by Lineberry (2007). These women...