Tattoos - a short history...

In the Netherlands, scientists recently discovered one of the oldest preserved human bodies, which had been frozen in the ice since the ice-age. Her body shows the earliest examples of tattooing: with swirling designs and symbolic animals etched into her skin.

From the items accompanying her, it is probable that this ice-age woman was a priestess. Other finds in religious sites of tattooed women and men seem to bear this out. It would seem that the marking of the skin could have had a magical or ritualistic purpose. Most early societies held a high regard for writing and drawing. Many considered it to be a magical act. (Rune scripts, Cave paintings and magical sigils are all examples of this) Could it be that Shamans and priests would take the further step and mark these holy re-creations of reality onto their bodies, and thereby transform themselves by their power? Forever.