I felt the first four chapters of our book thoroughly explored the origins of tattoo practice and the variety of functions tattooing has played in different cultures. Overall, I found that this text places a lot of emphasis on specific word choice and the origins of the word / the latin meaning. To me, this hasn’t been something I’ve thought a lot about (how analyzing word choice may reveal how ancient societies were communicating).
A pattern I noticed throughout readings was that regardless of culture / location, tattoos have generally had a negative connotation attached to them / associated with uncivilized barbarians. To a certain extent, this belief that tattoos are problematic and are associated with barbarians is still prevalent today – people still believe now that tattoos are associated with troublemakers / gangs / crimes. I found it interesting that Greeks had an aversion to decorative tattoos, as they associated them with barbarians. I thought it was interesting that in our western culture, which historically has associated the classic societies with prestige and knowledge, also contains an element of aversion.
This text made me think about how arguably humans have an innate desire to retaliate / seek revenge on others that have wronged them, specifically when the crime violates their moral compass. This is something I saw throughout the readings, where the name of the crime committed was tattooed on the criminal’s forehead. This reminds me how some people slash the tires of their significant others when they are betrayed or graffiti their car with “CHEATER” in order to humiliate. I always find it interesting when I notice how human emotions and how we deal with human emotions really haven’t changed over time.
Overall, I felt that these collection of readings provided a solid foundation on the beginning of tattooing and a general overview of the functions tattoos have played over time.