The word tattoo is said to has two major derivations- fromthe polynesian word ‘ta’ which means striking somethingand the tahitian word ‘tatau’ which means ‘to mark something’.
the history of tattoo began over 5000 years ago and is asdiverse as the people who wear them.
tattoos are created by inserting colored materials beneaththe skins surface. the first tattoos probably were createdby accident. someone had a small wound, and rubbed itwith a hand that was dirty with soot and ashes from the fire.once the wound had healed, they saw that a mark stayedpermanently.
despite the social sciences' growing fascination with tattooing,and the immense popularity of tattoos themselves,the practice has not left much of a historical record.

tahiti man

---bronze age

In 1991, a five thousand year old tattooed man ‘ötzi the ice man’made the headlines of newspapers all over the world whenhis frozen body was discovered on a mountain betweenaustria and italy.this is the best preserved corpse of that period ever found.the skin bears 57 tattoos: a cross on the inside of the left knee,six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidneys andnumerous parallel lines on the ankles.the position of the tattoo marks suggests that they were probablyapplied for therapeutic reasons (treatment of arthritis).
---pazyryk culture

In 1948, 120 miles north of the border between russia andchina, russian archeologist sergei rudenko began excavatinga group of tombs, or kurgans, in the high altai mountains ofwestern and southern siberia. mummies were found that datefrom around 2400 years ago.the tattoos on their bodies represent a variety of animals.the griffins and monsters are thought to have a magicalsignificance but some elements are believed to be purelydecorative. altogether the tattoos are believed to reflect thestatus of the individual.
---egypt

written records, physical remains, and works of art relevant toegyptian tattoo have virtually been ignored by earlier egyptologistsinfluenced by prevailing social attitudes toward the medium.today however, we know that there have been bodies recovereddating to as early XI dynasty exhibiting the art form of tattoo.in 1891, archaeologists discovered the mummified remainsof amunet, a priestess of the goddess hathor, at thebes wholived some time between 2160 BC and 1994 BC.this female mummy displayed several lines and dots tattooedabout her body - grouping dots and/or dashes were aligned intoabstract geometric patterns. this art form was restrictedto women only, and usually these women were associatedwith ritualistic practice.the egyptians spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world.the pyramid-building third and fourth dynasties of egyptdeveloped international nations with crete, greece, persia,and arabia. by 2,000 BC the art of tattooing had stretched out all theway to southeast asia .the ainu (western asian nomads) then brought it with themas they moved to japan.