History of Tattooing: A Captivating Guide to the Ancient and Modern Art of Tattoos Across Cultures and Time

From the 5,300-year-old tattoos of Ötzi to Sailor Jerry and the modern tattoo shop: an illustrated global history of humanity's oldest and most enduring art form. Why have people been tattooing themselves for more than five thousand years? Long before electric machines or modern ink, people across the world were making permanent marks on their skin. Some believed tattoos could protect them from harm. Others wore them to show rank, devotion, or identity. Some were forced to wear them as punishment. And here is the strange part: the same mark that meant sacred devotion in one civilization could mean criminal disgrace in another. Time and again, societies separated by oceans developed their own tattooing traditions, far from one another. This book traces that story from the oldest known tattoos on Ötzi to the rise of modern tattoo culture. Drawing on archaeology, historical accounts, and the latest research, it follows tattooing across continents and thousands of years, revealing how a single practice came to represent healing, faith, courage, status, rebellion, punishment, remembrance, and art. Inside, you'll discover: The 5,300-year-old tattoos of Ötzi.