What Purposes Have Tattoos Served Throughout History?
Posted by: Dawn on November 17th, 2009
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Posted: Tattoo Removal
In ancient Egypt, getting a tattoo seemed to be an exclusively female practice and mummies found with tattoos were usually dismissed by the (male) excavators who apparently assumed the women were of “dubious status”, described in some cases as “dancing girls”. The female mummies found, however, had been buried at Deir-el-Bahari (opposite modern Luxor) in an area associated with royal and elite burials. One of those women, it was later learned, was actually a high-status priestess named Amunet, as revealed by her funerary inscriptions.
Although it was long assumed that tattoos worn by the women in ancient Egypt were the mark of prostitutes or were meant to protect the women against sexually transmitted diseases, there are some experts in the field who believe the tattooing of those women had a therapeutic role and functioned as a permanent form of amulet (magical protection against evil, disease or trouble) during the very difficult time of pregnancy and childbirth. The fact that the patterns of distribution with the tattoos were found largely around the abdomen, on the top of the thighs and the breasts would certainly support this belief.
During pregnancy the net-like pattern of dots applied over the abdomen would expand in a protective fashion in the same way bead nets were placed over wrapped mummies to protect them and “keep everything in”. A tattoo of the household deity Bes at the tops of their thighs would again suggest the use of tattoos as a means of safe guarding the actual birth since Bes was the protector of women in labor and placing him at the tops of the women’s thighs would be a suitable location. These finds would certainly explain tattoos as a purely female custom in ancient Egypt.
Throughout history, whether male or female, tattoos have served a variety of purposes. In addition to amulets and protection against evil, disease or trouble, they have been declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment. In some cultures they identified social status or were used for ritual or tribal markings or rights of passage. (3) The cultural significance and importance of tattoos to people around the world has been evident from the famous discovery of the 5200 year old “Iceman” to our current culture today both in the west and around the world.
Those seeking to get a first or new tattoo are growing daily and it is estimated that 40 to 50 million Americans alone have tattoos. Tattoo regret and the desire of tattoo removal is also growing and some estimates run as high as 50 percent of those who receive a tattoo will eventually have a desire to seek tattoo removal. Tattoo removal can be more painful then when the tattoo is applied and tattoo removal cost can be quite expensive. Today, there are removal options such as, laser tattoo removal, tattoo removal cream or a simple tattoo cover up.