ancient egyptian tattoo history

by Prof. Gregory Mraz MD Published 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago

Full Answer

Did ancient Egyptians have tattoos?

Like facial makeup and perfume Egyptians also have a great history of tattoos as well. Ancient Egyptians used to paint their bodies with wonderful tattoo designs and had all kinds of different, unique designs they would tattoo on their bodies from their face to their feet.

What do Egyptian tattoos mean?

Red stood for Life, Power and Wrath.
Green symbolizes Life and Fertility.
Blue represented Creation and Rebirth.
Black evoked Death.
Yellow was the color of the Pharaohs.

What are Egyptian tattoos?

Popular Egyptian Motifs + Tattoo Designs and Meanings

Egyptian Cat Tattoo. Cats were some of the most important animals in ancient Egypt. ...
Eye of Horus Tattoo. One of the globally recognized ancient Egyptian symbols is the Eye of Horus. ...
Ankh Tattoo. ...
Pharaoh Tattoo. ...
Nefertiti Tattoo. ...
Anubis Tattoo. ...
Cleopatra Tattoo. ...
Pyramid Tattoo. ...
Isis Tattoo. ...
Hieroglyphs Tattoo. ...

More items...

What is a sacred symbol of ancient Egypt?

To the ancient Egyptians, it represented the sun because it banished the darkness. The blue lotus was the sacred flower of Hathor, the cow goddess of magic, fertility, and healing, representing her powers of healing and regeneration. This symbol means also creation and rebirth.

What did ancient Egyptian tattoos symbolize?

In ancient Egypt tattoos had a huge significance and many different meanings. For some it was a symbol that represented their social group and community, for some it was a sign that depicted what they believed, for some it was meant to make their body even more beautiful and attractive.

What do the Egyptians think of tattoos?

Many Egyptians believed that tattoos not only provided medical protection, but also brought them closer to the gods. They saw tattoos as permanent amulets that paid tribute to their favourite god or goddess.

Did Egyptian mummies have tattoos?

Although evidence for tattooing exists in the archaeological record from ancient Egypt, it's primarily in art and figurines. Actual mummies that have tattoos have been found rarely; in addition to the seven Deir el-Medina mummies, only six other tattooed Egyptian mummies have been identified.

Are tattoos common in Egypt?

As a result of Egypt turning into more of a religiously led country, with a large Muslim population as well as a strong Coptic Christian population, tattooing is largely seen as taboo and against 'social norms' primarily due to it being seen as a sort of sin by Egypt's religious community.

Why did Egyptians wear tattoos?

Perhaps, as in the present, the tattoo in ancient Egypt had many meanings aside from amuletic protection or cultic devotion. In the case of the image of Bes, a god known as well for encouraging merriment as providing protection, perhaps it was simply an expression of the joy one found in living one's life.

Did Egyptians invent tattoos?

Earliest Ancient Egyptian Tattoos Found on Mummies. The 5,000-year-old mummies have tattooed images of sheep, bulls, and mysterious lines. Ancient Egyptians were getting inked up earlier than we thought. A new analysis of two mummies shows the pair were sporting tattoos.

Did Egyptian pharaohs have tattoos?

Tattooed mummies They date to 3351 to 3017 BC, which is the Predynastic period before Egypt was unified by the first Pharaoh. Tattoos have previously been found on mummies from later in Egypt's history.

What is the oldest tattoo on record?

Researchers have discovered the oldest figurative tattoos in the world on two 5,000-year-old mummies from Egypt.The oldest example of tattooing is found on the Alpine mummy known as Ötzi who is thought to have lived between 3370 and 3100 BC. ... Follow Pallab on Twitter.More items...•

Do tattoos survive mummification?

For ancient Egypt, where skin can often survive well because of mummification, and where many “tattooed” figurines have been excavated, only three tattooed mummies from pharaonic Egypt had been found—at least until the latest discovery.

Are tattoos forbidden in Egypt?

(Oct. 18, 2017) On October 9, 2017, the former Grand Mufti of Egypt (the main, official religious scholar), Sheik Ali Gomaa, issued a new fatwa (religious decree) allowing women to have permanent inked tattoos on their bodies. However, the same religious decree bans males from getting permanent tattoos.

What does a pharaoh tattoo symbolize?

Pharaoh was and still is, a symbol of power and exceptional ruling ability. It is one of the most common Egyptian symbols as well. That is why a Pharaoh tattoo would be an excellent way to celebrate ancient Egypt, since it is bold, outstanding, truly mysterious, and unique, just like a Pharaoh.

What does a King Tut tattoo mean?

The King Tut tattoo also represents elite royalty, pleasure seeking characteristics, and strength. If you are from a royal family line, this could be a unique way of showing it even if you are not from Egypt. Remember, this tattoo portrays royalty.

Who wrote about tattoos in ancient Egypt?

Louis Keimer, who authored a key text on tattooing in ancient Egypt, wrote that all tattooed women in Egypt were "prostitutes of dubious morality.". Yet in recent decades, the surging popularity of tattoos has shifted perceptions. More articles have been published since 2000 on ancient tattoos than in the entire 20th century.

Why did Hathor get tattoos?

By tattooing in public regions of the body, the tattoos were intended to permanently mark the woman as associated with religious worship.

What is the tattoo on the Ramesside Temple?

Other tattoos, like a bent-lotus plant, appear as graffiti on the stones of the Ramesside temple to Hathor at Deir el Medina. This hieroglyph served as a link between Hathor and papyrus marshes. Additionally, open lotus blossoms abound on the graffiti of the temple floor and were tattooed on either hip.

What is the significance of the tattoos on the Deir el Medina?

Yet, in the case of the Deir el Medina mummy, a tattooed woman clearly had an important connection to religion. While we cannot give her a priestly title, the permanent, public and religious nature of her tattoos indicates that women’s religious roles in ancient Egypt were more complex than titles suggest.

Where is the Eye of Horus?

The Eye of Horus was placed on the throat, the two shoulders and the back ; from any angle when one looked at this woman, a pair of divine eyes peered back. These divine eyes were written together with the hieroglyph nefer. This combination forms the phrase “to do good.”.

When were tattoos first discovered in Egypt?

The Evidence Of Ancient Egyptian Tattoos. Almost all mummies belonging to the period around 2000 B.C. were found to have had tattoos on their body. These were comprised of different designs which were quite historical and mysterious that clearly showed the presence of tattoos during ancient Egyptian times.

What did tattoos represent in ancient Egypt?

What did ancient Egyptians do to their bodies?

Ancient Egyptians used to paint their bodies with wonderful tattoo designs and had all kinds of different, unique designs they would tattoo on their bodies from their face to their feet. They also used different colors for making these designs, extracting the color from natural elements. In ancient Egypt tattoos had a huge significance ...

What were tattoos based on?

Different groups and communities had different tattoo designs in ancient Egypt and designs were based on the faith and beliefs of the particular social groups.

Who had tattooed fingers?

Although some details are still under debate, it is believed that tattoo-decorated fingers belonged to the mummies who were associated with music and dancing inancient Egypt.

What is a monogram tattoo?

For example: A tattoo was found of a monogram with a cross on its top. This tattoo depicted a woman with Christian beliefs. This tattoo also indicated that the woman hoped to place herself under the protection of an archangel who was a patron saint of Nubia in older times.

What are the tattoos on Egyptian mummies?

When did tattoos first appear?

Both individuals date anywhere from 3351 B.C. to 3017 B.C., making them some of the earliest known bearers of tattoos. The next known example of ancient Egyptians getting tattoos doesn't appear for more than a millennia later. Only Ötzi the Ice Man, a cave man dating back to about 3370 B.C., has earlier evidence of tattoos.

What is the name of the man with tattoos on his arm?

On his arm, you can see his tattoos. </p>. This infrared image shows the male mummy known as Gebelein Man. On his arm, you can see his tattoos. Photograph courtesy The Trustees of the British Museum.

What are some examples of figurative tattoos?

Unlike Ötzi's tattoos, which have more geometric designs, the Egyptian tattoos are the earliest known examples of figurative tattoos, or tattoos that represent images. The new findings are published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

What does the tattoo on a woman's shoulder mean?

The paper further suggests that the placement of the tattoos on the woman's shoulder and abdomen mean the woman was someone who had religious knowledge or a high status. Researching the tattoos further may help archaeologists better understand Egypt's early visual language, says the curator.

When did tattoos start?

Previously, archaeologists assumed that only women living during ancient Egypt's predynastic period, from 4000 B.C. to 3100 B.C., had tattoos.

What is the symbol on the woman's body?

The woman's body contains four "S"-like symbols on her top shoulder joint and an "L"-shaped line on her abdomen that archaeologists think might be a stave, or wooden staff. Both bodies contained tattoos that were inked into the dermis, the thicker part of their skin, with an ink made of some sort of soot.

How Old Are These Mummies?

British Museum specialists believe that these two tattooed mummies are from between the years 3352 BCE and 3017 BCE. Before this discovery, it was believed that ancient Egyptians only began to tattoo themselves millennia later.

How Did There Two Ancient Egyptians Get Inked?

There are many things that make this discovery so exciting. One of them is that both men and women had tattoos. Before this discovery, it was firmly believed, or at least assumed that only women from that period got tattooed.

Why were tattoos dismissed in ancient Egypt?

Because this seemed to be an exclusively female practice in ancient Egypt, mummies found with tattoos were usually dismissed by the (male) excavators who seemed to assume the women were of "dubious status," described in some cases as "dancing girls.".

Where were blue tattoos found?

The mummified remains of women of the indigenous C-group culture found in cemeteries near Kubban c. 2000-15000 B.C. were found to have blue tattoos, which in at least one case featured the same arrangement of dots across the abdomen noted on the aforementioned female mummies from Deir el-Bahari.

What are some examples of tattoos on mummies?

Most examples on mummies are largely dotted patterns of lines and diamond patterns, while figurines sometimes feature more naturalistic images. The tattoos occasionally found in tomb scenes and on small female figurines which form part of cosmetic items also have small figures of the dwarf god Bes on the thigh area.

How old is the Iceman?

Joann Fletcher, research fellow in the department of archaeology at the University of York in Britain, describes the history of tattoos and their cultural significance to people around the world, from the famous " Iceman," a 5,200-year-old frozen mummy, to today’s Maori.

Where was the body of a Scythian man found?

In 1948, the 2,400 year old body of a Scythian male was discovered preserved in ice in Siberia, his limbs and torso covered in ornate tattoos of mythical animals. Then, in 1993, a woman with tattoos, again of mythical creatures on her shoulders, wrists and thumb and of similar date, was found in a tomb in Altai.

Who said that tattoos were a mark of nobility?

The practice is also confirmed by the Greek writer Herodotus c. 450 B .C., who stated that amongst the Scythians and Thracians "tattoos were a mark of nobility, and not to have them was testimony of low birth.”.

Is Japanese tattooing real?

Modern Japanese tattoos are real works of art, with many modern practioners, while the highly skilled tattooists of Samoa continue to create their art as it was carried out in ancient times, prior to the invention of modern tattooing equipment.

When was the first tattoo discovered?

However, direct evidence for tattooing on mummified human skin extends only to the 4th millennium BC. The oldest discovery of tattooed human skin to date is found on the body of Ötzi the Iceman, dating to between 3370 and 3100 BC.

When was tattooing first practiced?

It was one of the early technologies developed by the Proto-Austronesians in Taiwan and coastal South China prior to at least 1500 BCE, before the Austronesian expansion into the islands of the Indo-Pacific.

Why do Inuit have tattoos?

Among the Inuit, some tattooed female faces and parts of the body to symbolize a girl transitioning into a woman, coinciding with the start of her first menstrual cycle. A tattoo represented a woman's beauty, strength, and maturity. This was an important practice because some Inuit believed that a woman could not transition into the spirit world without tattoos on her skin. The Inuit have oral traditions that describe how the raven and the loon tattooed each other giving cultural significance to both the act of tattooing and the role of those animals in Inuit culture and history. European missionaries colonized the Inuit in the beginning of the 20th century and associated tattooing as an evil practice "demonizing" anyone who valued tattoos. Alethea Arnaquq-Baril has helped Inuit women to revitalize the practice of traditional face tattoos through the creation of the documentary Tunniit: Retracing the Lines of Inuit Tattoos, where she interviews elders from different communities asking them to recall their own elders and the history of tattoos. The elders were able to recall the traditional practice of tattooing which often included using a needle and thread and sewing the tattoo into the skin by dipping the thread in soot or seal oil, or through skin poking using a sharp needle point and dipping it into soot or seal oil. Hovak Johnston has worked with the elders in her community to bring the tradition of kakiniit back by learning the traditional ways of tattooing and using her skills to tattoo others.

What is the oldest tattoo?

Preserved tattoos on ancient mummified human remains reveal that tattooing has been practiced throughout the world for many centuries. In 2015, scientific re-assessment of the age of the two oldest known tattooed mummies identified Ötzi as the oldest example then known. This body, with 61 tattoos, was found embedded in glacial ice in the Alps, and was dated to 3250 BCE. In 2018, the oldest figurative tattoos in the world were discovered on two mummies from Egypt which are dated between 3351 and 3017 BCE.

Why is the recognition of tattoo implements important?

Scholars explain that the recognition of tattoo implements is significant because it highlights the cultural importance of tattooing for Indigenous People. A page from Thomas Harriot's book A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia showing a painting by John White.

How long have obsidian tattoos been around?

Some artifacts dating back 3,000 years from the Solomon Islands may have been used for tattooing human skin. Obsidian pieces have been duplicated, then used to conduct tattoos on pig skin, then compared to the original artifacts. "They conducted these experiments to observe the wear, such as chipping and scratches, and residues on the stones caused by tattooing, and then compared that use-wear with 3,000 year old artifacts. They found that the obsidian pieces, old and new, show similar patterns, suggesting that they hadn't been used for working hides, but were for adorning human skin."

Why did the Osage Nation get tattoos?

The Osage People used tattooing for a variety of different reasons. The tattoo designs were based on the belief that people were part of the larger cycle of life and integrated elements of the land, sky, water, and the space in between to symbolize these beliefs.

We give you a quick look at how tattoo tools have developed from ancient times to modern day

Tattooing is a centuries old art form and throughout the years, there have been significant changes to the methods used in the process. Read on to discover how tattoo tools have progressed from ancient bronze needles and chisels made of bone, right up to contemporary tattoo machines as we know them.

Ancient Tattoo Tools

Figural tattoos depicting animals and ancient gods, have been discovered on Egyptian mummies dating back to somewhere between 3351–3017 BC. Web-like geometric patterns were also inked into the skin as a form of protection against evil spirits and even death.

Early Modern Tattoo Tools

This ancient Thai tattooing tradition dates back to the 16th century, when Naresuan ruled and his soldiers sought spiritual protection ahead of battles. It remains popular to this day, and there’s even an annual religious celebration dedicated to it.

Victorian Era Tattoo Tools

Perhaps most famous for inventing the lightbulb and the motion picture camera, in 1875 Thomas Edison also invented an electric pen. Initially designed for making duplicates of the same document using a stencil and ink roller, the invention sadly never took off.

Contemporary Tattoo Tools

Fast forward to 1929: American tattooist Percy Waters had developed the first modern tattoo machine with a familiar shape. After designing and manufacturing 14 frame styles, some of which are still used to this day, he became the leading tattoo tool supplier in the world.