Where's Your Tattoo?

Dating back to 12,000 years BC, tattoos decorate the mummies of Egyptian concubines and Neolithic cavemen. Historically, tattoos have been used to identify clans in Northern Europe, indicate social status in Polynesia, advertise marriageable skills in Borneo, and ward off illness in Eastern Europe. Tattoos on the fingers and wrist like the traditional Croatian hand tattoos pictured on this stamp were thought to protect the wearer from disease. (Click the post title to order.)

The English word "tattoo" comes from the Tahitian "tatau" meaning "to mark or strike twice," a reference to the traditional method of application with sharpened sticks. Widely popular with pre-Christian European cultures, tattoos disappeared from the West between the 12th and 16th century, banned by the Pope as a pagan rite. In the 1690s sailors returning from the South Seas reintroduced the art which fascinated the European upper class. By 1898 nearly 1 in 5 members of the gentry wore tattoos! The invention of the electric tattooing machine in 1891 made tattoos affordable for the general population.

In America, tattoos reached their heyday in the years just before World War I when cosmetic tattoos -- blushed cheeks, colored lips and eyeliner -- were the rage of New York City society. Changing mores caused tattoos to fall out of favor and they became associated with the seamier side of society. During the free-spirited 1960s, tattoos enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Today, tattoos have gone mainstream with everyone from movie stars to grandmothers sporting body art. Where's your tattoo? We promise not to tell!

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