Body Modification: in General

             Body modification has played a role in the lives of the human race far longer than most people know. Evidence has been found of individuals modifying their bodies with tattooing for thousands of years. The reasoning behind this act appears to be different, depending on the culture.  Although not all were intended to be “art”, even their functionality seems beautiful.
            “Otzi the Iceman” is believed to be the oldest found human with tattoos. He is referred to as 'the iceman' because his body was encased- and thus preserved- in ice. He was located in the Otztaler Alps and is believed to date back to around 3300 BC. He reportedly wears about 57 tattoos that anthropologists believe to have been printed on him for medicinal reasons because they are located in what today would be recognized as acupuncture locations. 
             Different tools were used and different names labeled the practice, but regardless of the motivation and the technique people around the world have always practiced tattooing. How is it that in modern day times tattoos can still have a negative stigma attached to them? Why is it still shocking to see if humans have been doing it for thousands of years? I hesitate to compare this hatred to that found in racism, but their origins in ignorance appear to be the same. Perhaps knowledge of the history and understanding of the culture and industry can help to cure the skepticism often found in the general population.

yoinked from google- not my image

          Norsemen, Saxons, and Greeks used tattooing to show their social status or reflect their position in their careers. Ancient Polynesians used tattooing to convey genealogy and sexual maturation. Egyptians adorned their bodies with tattoos for spiritual reasons. Native American chiefs would have tattoos that signified dominance over ordinary hunters and Africans used tattoos in association with tribes. 

          Unfortunately, when religion became more prominent it began to conflict with the practice of body modification. Monotheistic religion will commonly teach us that, having been made in god’s image, our body is sacred. We should not pollute it, mistreat it, or modify it in any way.

          It’s estimated, nowadays, that one in every seven people in America have at least one tattoo and even more than that participate in some form of body modification. They might not refer to it as such, however, because society has predetermined what types of body modification are generally accepted (boob jobs, hair coloring, skin bleaching, nail painting, teeth whitening, plastic surgery of any kind, body building, steroids, etc etc) and thus not looked down upon.