Tattoos didn’t spring up with the dawn of biker gangs and rock “n” roll bands. They’ve been around for a long time and had many different meanings over the course of history.
For years, scientists believed that Egyptians and Nubians were the first people to tattoo their bodies. Then, in 1991, a mummy was discovered, dating back to the Bronze Age of about 3, 300 B. C. “The Iceman”, as the specimen was dubbed, had several markings on his body, including a cross on the inside of his knee and lines on his ankle and back. It is believed these tattoos were made in a curative effort.
Being so advance, the Egyptians reportedly spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world. The pyramid-building third and fourth dynasties of Egypt developed international nations with Crete Greece, Persia and Arabia. The art tattooing stretched out all the way to Southeast Asia by 2, 000 B. C. Around the same time, the Japanese became interested in the art but only for its decorative attributes, as opposed to magical ones. The Japanese tattoo artists were the undisputed masters. Their use of colors, perspective, and imaginative designs gave the practice a whole new angle. During the first millennium A. D., Japan adopted Chinese culture in many aspects and confined tattooing to branding wrongdoers.
In the Balkans, the Thracians had a different use for the craft. Aristocrats, according to Herodotus, used it to show the world their social status. Although early Europeans dabbled with tattooing, they truly rediscovered the art from when the world exploration of the post-Renaissance made them seek out new cultures. It was their meeting with Polynesian that introduced them to tattooing. The word, in fact is derived from the Polynesian word tattau, which means “to mark”.
Most of the early uses of tattoos were ornamental. However, a number of civilizations had practical applications for this craft. The Goths, a tribe of Germanic barbarians famous for pillaging Roman settlements, used tattoos to mark their slaves. Romans did the same with slaves and criminals.
In Tahiti, tattoos were a rite of passage and told the history of the person’s life. Reaching adulthood, boys got one tattoo to commemorate the event. Men were marked with another style when they got married.
Later, tattoos became the souvenir of choice for globetrotting sailors. Whenever they would reach an exotic locale, they would get a new tattoo to mark the occasion. A dragon was a famous style that meant the sailor had reached a “China station”. At first, sailors would spend their free time on the ship tattooing themselves and their mates. Soon after, tattoo parlors were set up in the area, surrounding ports worldwide.
In the middle of the 19th century, police officials believed that half of the criminal underworld in New York City had tattoos. Port areas were renowned for being rough places full of sailors that were guilty of some crime or another. This is most likely how tattoos got such a bad reputation and became associated with rebels and delinquents.
1.According to the passage, tattoos were adopted for all of the following purposes EXCEPT（ ）.
2.Tattoo was believed to be created（）.
3.In Japan, tattoos were accepted as（ ）.
4.Which of the following statement is true according to the passage?
5.Why did tattoos become associated with rebels and delinquents in New York?
