The History of Tattooing, Piercing, and Body Painting

The History of Tattooing, Piercing, and Body Painting

Tattooing

Tattooing dates all the way back to the Egyptians.

Samoan. Samoan men were traditionally tattooed from waist to knees. Samoan women were tattooed on their thighs and knees, but using more delicately feminine designs. Samoan young men were tattooed between the ages of 16 to 18 years old, in a group puberty ceremony that served to reinforce societal authority. In battle, tattoos were thought to grant supernatural protection. Samoan tattoo artists used combs to apply the design. They would dip the comb in a mixture of water and candlenut soot and then tap the comb with a stick, causing the pointed teeth to puncture the skin.

Maori. While Samoan men favored covering the lower parts of their bodies with tattoos, Maori men of New Zealand preferred to adorn their buttocks, thighs, and faces with tattoos. Maori men were tattooed by an artist of "moko," a technique unique to the Maori. The pattern was literally carved into the skin with a chisel. Ink would be placed in the open cuts to generate the tattoo. Beginning at the onset of adulthood, the particularly painful process, was typically completed in segments. Maori facial tattoos were indications of authority and status, intended to make an impression and intimidate, especially in times of war. Since each pattern was unique, men's facial tattoos became part of their individual identity. This procedure was painful, and resulted in a lot of facial swelling. There was so much swelling that the individual could not eat normally. Constructions of Funnel-like feeding tubes were made to aid in eating. Tattooing of Maori women unlike the men was restricted to their lips and chin. Unlike the facial tattoos of Maori men, facial tattoos of women were executed with a toothed comb.

Africa. Throughout Africa exists the tradition of scarification. Scarification creates a raised pattern on the skin and is similar to tattooing when dye is used. Scarification is a painful process that African girls go through when they reach puberty. Once a girl reaches puberty, she is also ready to be married. Scarification assists by making her more beautiful and helps her snag a mate. The patterns are also regarded as testimony that the woman will be able to endure the pain of childbirth!

Americans use tattooing as a form of expression. They usually pick something that is representative of their personalities or a symbol of some meaning. I have actually decided to get a tattoo and it took me almost a year to figure out what I wanted a tattoo of. I decided to go for a pumpkin which represents my grandma and my boyfriend because my nick-name is pumpkin. It will also probably say something inspirational like carpe diem or something in French. Now it will probably take me just as long to figure out where I am going to put it on my body. I first got the idea when I was working with cadavers and there was this 80 year old women and since I am also donating my body to science I just want something to remain of my personality.

Piercing

Piercing is interesting for me because I work at Club Libby Lu in Woodfield and about a month ago I was trained on piercing ears. It blows my mind that little girls would want a sharp piece of metal plunged into their ears. Just seeing how much pain and crying there is before, during, and afterwards it kind of blows my mind that people would do this voluntarily. For most American girls this process happens before the age of seven. I did pierce a 2 month olds and I believe that is the best age. That way they won’t remember the trauma!

Asia. Throughout Asia, we can also find examples of stretched earlobes that come from wearing extremely heavy earrings. Don’t even get me started on gauging!! If there was anything someone would regret when they hit middle age, it would be gauging.

Eskimo. Eskimo men and women increased the size of their lips by using lip-plugs. These plugs gradually stretch the hole in the lip. Often labrets were so bulky that their lips hung downward, revealing their teeth and gums. Even larger labrets sometimes interfered with speaking and eating.

Popular piercing today include tongue, ears, nose, lip, neck, and naval. I know at least 7 people with tongue rings, and almost all my female friends have their ears pierced. I know one friend who got the back of his neck pierced. A few months ago, I went with my friend Melissa and actually held her hand while she got her naval pierced. It was at moment I also had the epiphany that I will NEVER get anything other than my ears pierced!!

Body Painting

Body Painting is the most ancient and direct method of corporeal decoration. There are many reasons we paint our bodies. It is a form of identification, ritual, or beauty.

New Guinea. For the woman of New Guinea, body painting is a means of conveying social messages about her identity with a group.

In America the most popular types of Body Painting is face painting and a little industry we call cosmetics. Cosmetics are made to high light our assets that we are proud of and correct our no-so-wonderful faults. Cosmetics can also set a mood. Darker more sultry cosmetics can take us from professional business woman to our knock-out-night-on-the-town look.

Relativity vs. Absolute Dating

Relativity vs. Absolute Dating

There are two methods of discovering the age of an ancient object; Relative Dating is using the particular ancient object in context and comparing two items to determine which one is older. Then in the 1940s, Willard Libby exposed a more accurate method by focusing in on the role of Carbon-14. Looking at the Carbon-14 and determining the age is refered to as Absolute Dating. Libby learned that as time passed the Carbon-14 deteriorated at an even rate that was crucial in moving from a hypothetical to a concrete age. One technique of Relative Dating is Cation Ratio Dating.

Cation Ratio Dating is used in determining the age of rocks, some of which contain petroglyphs. The prehistoric rock carvings have a varnish topping, which is in a chemically-changed coating that presents itself over a period of time. The calcium and potassium bleed through the rock. To find the Cation Ratio, one must scrape away a section of the rock and compare the new varnish with the unearthed scrape-mark section and make a comparison between the two utilizing a positively charged ion. This relationship is affected by soil and moisture.

One technique used by Absolute Dating is Dendrochronology. Dendrochronology is examining the tree ring growth to tell the age of a tree or artifacts that are generally close. Clark Wissler and A.E Douglass were the first to pioneer this technique. The rings are composed of xylem. Every spring or summer a fresh layer of xylem is created, producing countable rings. However, one problem that was encountered in their method of Dendrochronology is due to the climate. When the climate is particularly damp, the tree will construct wider rings and in the waterless years, narrower rings. Sometimes because of harsh weather, trees may not generate one ring each year. Yet the cure to their weather problem was solved by comparison. To make sure that the ring count is accurate, scientists use resources in close proximity to corroborate the information.

Behavioral Differences Between Chimps and Bonobos

What are some of the behavioral differences between Chimps and Bonobos?

Chimps and Bonobos are close relatives genetically speaking, yet so different in regards to their social dynamics. The Chimps are very violent in nature, and the Bonobos are a quite peaceful species. But how can relatives so close be so polar different in behavior? A single theory suggests that a little negative adjustment in the accessibility of provisions might have encouraged the progression of the present Chimp and Bonobo societies. Researchers Richard Wrangham and Amy Parish studied the dynamics of both the Chimp and Bonobo species. Bonobos were only recognized as a separate species from chimps in the year 1929. However, Bonobos sparked the interest biologists with their very laid-back lifestyles, roles of males and females within the society, female relations, and passion for recreational sex.

Bonobos reside in the forests south of the Zaire River. Their species evolved a greatly dissimilar social configuration from the Chimps given that the two species divided about two million years ago. Male supremacy is a huge part of the chimp social order. Arguments are most likely resolved violence. Unfortunately for Chimps, sex is only used for reproductive purposes The Chimps reproductive tactics fuel the fire for possible infanticide.

On the other hand, the Bonobo society is distinguished by the well-built bonds that grow between not related female bonobos. Bonobos use the act of sex to strengthen relationships to find a resolution to conflicts. Unlike the Chimps, infanticide is rarely ever practiced. The Bonobos promiscuous sexual practices leave paternity of father unknown, eliminating the incentive for infanticide.

Both the Bonobos and Chimps live in tropical forests along the Zaire River; chimps are located north of the Zaire River and bonobos to the south. However, roughly two and a half million years ago, a drought in southern Zaire killed off out the favored food of gorillas and forced the primates to flee their homes. After the drought, the forests returned to its old self, but the gorillas didn’t return to their normal selves. Bonobos found themselves alone and with an abundance of prime foods. The extra food and lack of tension resulted in the form of stronger social bonds. The Chimps had to do more competing for food leading to a tense life-style leading to more aggressive and violent behavior.

How prosimians differ from other primates

How prosimians differ from other primates

Primates are an order that includes (1) monkeys, (2) apes, and even (3) humans. There are thirty-two diverse types of lemurs all which reside on the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa. Primates can be placed into two suborders which are the anthropoids and prosimians. Monkeys, apes, and humans are categorized as anthropoids. Lemurs, however, fall into the prosimian category. World Wildlife International affirmed that lemurs are the most endangered primates in the world in the year 1987. The suborder prosimians also includes bushbabies (found in Africa), lorises (found in Asia), and tarsiers (found in Borneo and the Philippines).

The difference is that prosimians have damp noses and rely heavily on their smell to establish (1) what is harmless to consume food wise and (2) to discriminate amid other prosimians in their social groups which set them apart from Primates. But similarly, prosimians tidy themselves and others of their species like the primates. They utilize their teeth as a comb to groom one another. Females are the dominant sex within the prosimian species. Females get the first picks of brought back provisions from the males, they protect the rest of the group, and are also in charge of determining which male they will mate with! The first prosimian appears in fossil record about fifty-five million years, monkeys at about forty-five million years ago, and apes at about thirty-five million years ago. Only nocturnal prosimians are found off the islandMadagascar because there are no nocturnal monkeys or apes except one (the spider monkey) that is found in South America. of