![]() During the American Revolution, sailors’ American citizenship papers were often disregarded by British Navy ships-destroyed in some cases-so seamen tattooed their identification information as a way to avoid being illegally recruited by the British navy. The use of tattoos as identification continued, spreading to sailors in America. Sailors returned with permanent reminders of their travels and marks of seaward superstition. James Cook’s expeditions to the Far East resulted in a renewed fascination with the age-old practice of body marking. ![]() In the 18th century, at the height of British colonial exploration, Capt. But the sweep of Christianity stifled tattooing in much of the Western world when, in 787 A.D., Pope Hadrian I outlawed tattooing. Throughout Gallipoli (Turkey), Malta and France, soldiers and sailors sported markings. “The desire to impress one’s foes may be uppermost in the case of an advancing army of Indians or Australians who have used the red war paint very freely.” “Use of paint during warfare is very common throughout North America and Australia,” wrote Wilfrid Dyson Hambly in his 1925 book The History of Tattooing. Maori warriors would behead slaves and tattoo the heads in order to barter for weapons and ammunition from visiting Europeans during the 1700s. Maori tribes of New Zealand have specific tattoo patterns and placement-known as moko-that tell of the wearer’s ancestry and social standing. ![]() Some American tribes affiliate certain “paint”-body paint, rather than puncture tattooing-with success in war. Celts were known to paint their bodies with spiral motifs-recognized as Celtic knots today. Picti people of Caledonia (now Scotland) were known as “the Painted People” because of their tattoos. Typically, tattooing was associated with lower classes (criminals, slaves and gladiators) as well as Thracian (Southeastern Indo-European tribe) infantry.Īdditionally, tribal warriors of the British Isles embraced the practice of tattooing. The Greek word Stizein meant tattoo, and it evolved into the Latin word Stigma meaning a mark or brand. Roman soldiers were tattooed with permanent dots-the mark of SPQR, or Senatus Populusque Romanus-and used as a means of identification and membership in a certain unit. In Western culture, tattoos find roots in the Roman Empire. “Tattoos and other permanent forms of body modification have been paramount in establishing the status and reputation of warriors for hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” Lars Krutak, a tattoo anthropologist and the host of Discovery Channel’s Tattoo Hunter, told Medium’s “War is Boring” blog in 2014. Furthermore, some anthropologists argue that early tattooing was a form of therapy. Outside of religious or ancient ceremonial trends-especially among tribal people worldwide-the connection of the body with patriotic sentiments has, for centuries, been a motivating factor in perpetuating the art of tattoo among warriors. Cultural anthropologists attribute the spread of tattooing or body-marking culture to a variety of human traits, ranging from religion to magic to experience and memory. The age-old practice of tattooing can be found on mummies dating as far back as 4000 B.C. The tradition of tattooing is a mainstay in American military history, from the Revolution to today. ![]() While anthropologists cannot pinpoint one reason tattooing began or held fast over the course of humanity, one reason tattooing persists is to signify a warrior. This article originally appeared in the August 2016 issue of the VFW magazine.
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