Slide 2:
The oldest known tattoo is that found on Oetzi, a Bronze Age warrior who lived some fifty-three centuries ago. Oetzi’s remains were founding 1991 preserved in the ice of the of an Alpone glacier on the border of Austria and Italy. Oetzi actually had fifty-seven separate tattoos, and although no one really knows their significance, it is possible that his intersecting and parallel lines are the earliest yet discovered example of tribal art tattoos. If so, Oetzi would be surprised to learn that he is quite the 21st century trend-setter.
Slide 3:
In a world gone tattoo-mad, tribal art tattoos seem to have cause more than their fair share of the frenzy. They are the most requested, and most easily recognized, of all tattoos. With their startling black lines and sharply defined abstract shapes which somehow evoke animal, birds, and reptiles, tribal art tattoos remind us of a long-lost connection to an unspoiled world.
Slide 4:
Maori tribal tattoo art is recognizable for its two types of patterns. One was a pigmented line, and the other involved inking the background and allowing the untouched skin to form the pattern. Many of the Maori tattoos contain spirals similar to fern fronds.
Slide 5:
Tribal art tattoos did not make their way to the “civilized” world until they were brought back by nineteenth century sailors who were willing tolerate the extremely painful inking techniques practiced by the tribal tattoo artists. But the tribal art tattoos which have currently taken the world by storm are not quite the same as the ones which decorated the torsos of many a sun-burned deck hand.
Slide 6:
The most sought-after tribal art tattoos today are armbands; chains of knots, barbed-wire, or flames are all popular. Stylized animal heads and sunbursts are great for the shoulder or chest area, and circular navel tribal art tattoos are also quite common. The tribal art tattoo, in fact, works very well in emphasizing bodily contours, and there are many designs ideal for the curvature if the lower back.