By Kate Sullivan, Allure
Tattoos have served as signifiers of independence and of community, as remembrances of both joy and pain. They can also look pretty sweet. Check out their lasting history.
330: Approximate year Roman emperor Constantine outlawed face tattoos for gladiators and convicts because he said the face reflected "the image of divine beauty."
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50: Approximate number of tattoos on Ötzi the Iceman, the 5,300-year-old frozen mummy found on the border of Austria and Italy in 1991. Many of his tattoos—created by rubbing charcoal into fine cuts—were placed in what are now acupuncture points.
12 to 15: Age at which most Samoan boys circa 1210 were tattooed to symbolize their burgeoning manhood; the Samoan word "tatau" means "correct" or "workmanlike."
15th: Century Indian women first got facial tattoos to indicate their tribe and marriageability.
19:28: Passage in the Vayikra section of the Torah that states "you shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves." There is a common misconception that violators cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery; the Orthodox Union, however, insists that they can be.
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1846: Year Martin Hildebrandt opened the first tattoo parlor in New York City. He later tattooed soldiers on both sides of the Civil War.
1872: Year the Meiji government in Japan outlawed irezumi—tattoos created by inserting ink underneath the skin (see below)—because they wanted citizens to seem more Westernized to potential trade partners. Not only did the ban not stick, but foreign sailors loved the designs and often got irezumi as reminders of their time in Japan.
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75: Estimated percentage of foreigners who were tattooed while visiting Japan by the late 1800s. This included many European aristocrats, such as the future British king George V, who got a dragon on his arm. His father, King Edward VII, had multiple tattoos, including a cross he got in Jerusalem.
330: Approximate year Roman emperor Constantine outlawed face tattoos for gladiators and convicts because he said the face reflected "the image of divine beauty."
[post_ads_2]
50: Approximate number of tattoos on Ötzi the Iceman, the 5,300-year-old frozen mummy found on the border of Austria and Italy in 1991. Many of his tattoos—created by rubbing charcoal into fine cuts—were placed in what are now acupuncture points.
12 to 15: Age at which most Samoan boys circa 1210 were tattooed to symbolize their burgeoning manhood; the Samoan word "tatau" means "correct" or "workmanlike."
15th: Century Indian women first got facial tattoos to indicate their tribe and marriageability.
19:28: Passage in the Vayikra section of the Torah that states "you shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves." There is a common misconception that violators cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery; the Orthodox Union, however, insists that they can be.
[post_ads_2]
1846: Year Martin Hildebrandt opened the first tattoo parlor in New York City. He later tattooed soldiers on both sides of the Civil War.
[post_ads_2]
75: Estimated percentage of foreigners who were tattooed while visiting Japan by the late 1800s. This included many European aristocrats, such as the future British king George V, who got a dragon on his arm. His father, King Edward VII, had multiple tattoos, including a cross he got in Jerusalem.
