Dermal pigmentation, or tattoo, is a mark made by depositing ink into the skin for, usually, decorative purposes. Tattoos on people are a decorative enhancement, while tattoos on animals are for identification or branding. The word tattoo comes from the Samoan word tatau, meaning to mark or strike twice. Tattoos are referred to as tats, work, art, or ink, and the person giving the tattoo as an artist. Copyrighted designs, or flash, are mass-produced and sold to other artists. Flash sheets are displayed in tattoo parlors to provide both inspiration and ready-made tattoo images to customers.
Tattooing has been practiced in Europe and Asia for thousands of years. A mummified corpse dating from 4000 BC was found in the Ötz valley in the Alps and had 57 carbon tattoos consisting of dots and lines on his lower spine, behind his left knee, and on his right ankle. Other mummies with tattoos dating from 1000 BC have been discovered in the southwestern Siberian region of Russia. Tattooing in Japan has been traced back to 10,000 years ago. Most other cultures around the world have had their own tattoo traditions, ranging from rubbing cuts with ashes, to pricking the skin to insert other pigments.
The ancient people of Japan and the Maori of New Zealand wore facial tattoos. Modern day Maori still carry on the tradition today. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular all over the world. Tattoos have served as a rite of passage, status and rank, marks of fertility, bravery, sexual lures, spiritual devotion, show of love, punishment, and to identify slaves and convicts. The symbolism and impact of tattoos can be very powerful. People have also been forcibly tattooed for various reasons. The best known example is the identification system for Jews who suffered in concentration camps during the Holocaust of World War II.
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