Have You Learnt Your Tattoo Art History?

Although when we think of tattoos we may have a modern image in our heads, it is in fact more apt to suggest an incredibly ancient concept. Even though we rarely saw the Romans walking around covered in tattoos, they dated back as far as 10,000 BC.

They have been used as a form of marking; either for decoration or to make themselves recognisable as a member of a particular society. tattoo art history therefore stretches back well beyond what anyone thought it would.

Celtic and Germanic tribes often found themselves the proud carriers of many tattoos and the Picts were particularly famous for their use of a blue coloured tattoo.

Japanese tattoos have been around for a long time as well and have existed in many forms: some tribes would rub the skin till it bled, others would use needles to insert dyes and others would put ashes into wounds.

It is claimed that the origin of modern tattoos is to be found in the Polynesia Islands, although this is debated. The tattoo art history is a very long one yet we know very little about it. There are many different origins and paths through which the concept of a tattoo has evolved. We almost take for granted many modern concepts and now you know why we have tattoos.