Ancient Ink: The Archaeology of Tattooing

Front Cover
Lars F. Krutak, Aaron Deter-Wolf
University of Washington Press, 2017 - Art - 354 pages

The human desire to adorn the body is universal and timeless. While specific forms of body decoration and the motivations for them vary by region, culture, and era, all human societies have engaged in practices designed to augment and enhance people's natural appearance. Tattooing, the process of inserting pigment into the skin to create permanent designs and patterns, is one of the most widespread forms of body art and was practiced by ancient cultures throughout the world, with tattoos appearing on human mummies by 3200 BCE.

Ancient Ink, the first book dedicated to the archaeological study of tattooing, presents new, globe-spanning research examining tattooed human remains, tattoo tools, and ancient art. Connecting ancient body art traditions to modern culture through Indigenous communities and the work of contemporary tattoo artists, the volume's contributors reveal the antiquity, durability, and significance of body decoration, illuminating how different societies have used their skin to construct their identities.

Other editions - View all

About the author (2017)

Lars Krutak is a research associate in the department of anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. He is the author of Tattoo Traditions of Native North America: Ancient and Contemporary Expressions of Identity (LM Publishers, 2014; distributed by University of Washington Press), Spiritual Skin: Magical Tattoos Scarification (Editions Reuss, 2012), Kalinga Tattoo: Ancient and Modern Expressions of the Tribal (Editions Reuss, 2010), and The Tattooing Arts of Tribal Women (Bennett & Bloom, 2007). Aaron Deter-Wolf is a prehistoric archaeologist for the State of Tennessee's Division of Archaeology. He is the editor of Drawing with Great Needles: Ancient Tattoo Traditions of North America (University of Texas Press, 2013).

Bibliographic information