Whether they are on arms, legs, ankles or buttocks, tattoos are painted all over our bodies by injecting ink into our skin.
A needle attached to a hand-held tool injects ink into the cells of the dermis---a section of our skin that keeps tattoos from fading and stretching. The tool moves the needle up and down at a rate of several hundred vibrations per minute and penetrates the skin by about one millimeter. The ink that is left in the skin after the injection process is the tattoo.
Decorating our bodies with tattoos is a popular fad among many people.
The word tattoo originates from the Tahitian word tattau, which means "to mark" and was first mentioned in explorer James Cook's records from his 1769 expedition to the South Pacific. However, some scientists believe that the earliest known evidence of tattooing dates back to markings found on the skin of the Iceman, a mummified human body that dates as far back as 3300 B.C.
More widely recognized are tattoos found on Egyptian and Nubian mummies dating from about 2000 B.C. Classical authors mention the use of tattoos in connection with Greeks, ancient Germans, Gauls, Thracians and ancient Britons.
BY bulaiya.com
Tattooing was rediscovered by Europeans when they came into contact with Polynesians and American Indians through their explorations. Because tattoos were considered so exotic in European and U.S. societies, tattooed Indians and Polynesians amazed crowds at circuses and fairs during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The practice of tattooing has different meanings to various cultures. Decoration was the most common motive for tattooing and that still holds true today.
In some cultures, tattoos served as identification of the wearer's rank or status within a group. For instance, the early Romans tattooed slaves and criminals. Tahitian tattoos served as rites of passage, telling the history of the wearer's life.
内容来自bulaiya.com
纹身的起源：纹身的起源，在以前，纹身是被叫做「刺青」，民族在进化过程中，用刺青来区分敌我，等到有衣服穿生，就用衣帽取代了刺青，刺青功能虽改变，但仍继续遗留在人类社会中，在中国春秋战国与秦、汉交替之际，有所谓的「鲸刑」，有的是刺在面上做为惩罚犯罪者的记号，欧美国家则把刺青当成「人皮艺术」看待，其实女性的纹眉、纹眼线都是刺青一种呢。不过，可能由于早年黑道电影大行其道，片中有纹身的都非善类，致令普遍人都将纹身等同「坏人」，卷标了身上有纹身的人，而时至今日，不少明星都爱纹身，加上纹身图案不再只有大龙、大凤等，又令大众开始慢慢接受，更成为一种潮流时尚。