Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques
This paper presents the first experimental archaeological study to formally compare the physical characteristics of tattoos made on human skin using multiple pre-modern tools and tattooing techniques. Our project used eight tools fashioned from animal bone, obsidian, copper, and boar tusk, along wit...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e3ea07807e884c92bf5c4691105ecb5f 2024-01-14T10:07:19+01:00 Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques Aaron Deter-Wolf Danny Riday Maya Sialuk Jacobsen 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doaj.org/article/e3ea07807e884c92bf5c4691105ecb5f EN eng EXARC https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10654 https://doaj.org/toc/2212-8956 2212-8956 https://doaj.org/article/e3ea07807e884c92bf5c4691105ecb5f EXARC Journal, Iss 2022/3 (2022) tattoo interpretation Museums. Collectors and collecting AM1-501 Archaeology CC1-960 article 2022 ftdoajarticles 2023-12-17T01:36:41Z This paper presents the first experimental archaeological study to formally compare the physical characteristics of tattoos made on human skin using multiple pre-modern tools and tattooing techniques. Our project used eight tools fashioned from animal bone, obsidian, copper, and boar tusk, along with a modern steel needle, to create tattoos on the leg of co-author Danny Riday. Those tattoos were created through four different traditional, pre-electric techniques consisting of hand poking, hand tapping, incision, and subdermal tattooing. We then documented the tattoos over a six-month period to compare the results. This process revealed clear physical differences between tattoos created using different tools and methods. The resulting data is then used to assess preserved tattoos from archaeological sites in the Andes and Greenland in order to test assumptions about how those marks were created. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
tattoo interpretation Museums. Collectors and collecting AM1-501 Archaeology CC1-960 |
spellingShingle |
tattoo interpretation Museums. Collectors and collecting AM1-501 Archaeology CC1-960 Aaron Deter-Wolf Danny Riday Maya Sialuk Jacobsen Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques |
topic_facet |
tattoo interpretation Museums. Collectors and collecting AM1-501 Archaeology CC1-960 |
description |
This paper presents the first experimental archaeological study to formally compare the physical characteristics of tattoos made on human skin using multiple pre-modern tools and tattooing techniques. Our project used eight tools fashioned from animal bone, obsidian, copper, and boar tusk, along with a modern steel needle, to create tattoos on the leg of co-author Danny Riday. Those tattoos were created through four different traditional, pre-electric techniques consisting of hand poking, hand tapping, incision, and subdermal tattooing. We then documented the tattoos over a six-month period to compare the results. This process revealed clear physical differences between tattoos created using different tools and methods. The resulting data is then used to assess preserved tattoos from archaeological sites in the Andes and Greenland in order to test assumptions about how those marks were created. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aaron Deter-Wolf Danny Riday Maya Sialuk Jacobsen |
author_facet |
Aaron Deter-Wolf Danny Riday Maya Sialuk Jacobsen |
author_sort |
Aaron Deter-Wolf |
title |
Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques |
title_short |
Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques |
title_full |
Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques |
title_fullStr |
Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques |
title_full_unstemmed |
Examining the Physical Signatures of Pre-Electric Tattooing Tools and Techniques |
title_sort |
examining the physical signatures of pre-electric tattooing tools and techniques |
publisher |
EXARC |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/e3ea07807e884c92bf5c4691105ecb5f |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
EXARC Journal, Iss 2022/3 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10654 https://doaj.org/toc/2212-8956 2212-8956 https://doaj.org/article/e3ea07807e884c92bf5c4691105ecb5f |
_version_ |
1788061736971010048 |