The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian term ‘Tatatau’ or ‘tattau’ meaning to hit or strike. This form of body alteration has been dated back 5,200 years with the 1991 discovery of the ‘Copper Age’ Iceman from the Italian-Austrian border. The Iceman had a pattern of dots and small crosses on his lower spine, right knee and ankle which coincided with areas of strain-induced bone degeneration. Researchers believe those dots may have been used as medical treatment to reduce pain.
Female mummies discovered in Egypt with tattoos had once been dismissed by excavators as ‘having the mark of a prostitute,’ but those marks are now being viewed as remedial and a permanent form of talisman during pregnancy and birth. The net-like pattern of dots found around the abdomens of the female mummies are believed to ‘expand in a protective fashion similarly to the way bead nets were placed over wrapped mummies to protect them and "keep everything in".’
To Hide or Not To Hide Tattoos in the Modern Workplace
