These boldly drawn tattoos of authentic tribal art will be instant attention-getters wherever they're placed. 8 designs, rendered in 4 subtle earth tones, reveal pictographs of a mythical figure, fleet-footed animals, a snake, and tribal members playing musical instruments. Safe and easy to apply to arms, legs, and other body parts.

"For thousands of years astonishingly rich and diverse forms of tattooing have been produced by the Indigenous peoples of North America. Long neglected by anthropologists and art historians, tattooing was a time-honoured traditional practice that expressed the patterns of tribal social organization and religion, while also channelling worlds inhabited by deities, spirits, and the ancestors. This book explores the many facets of indelible Indigenous body marking across every cultural region of North America. As the first book on the subject, it breaks new ground on one of the least-known mediums of Amerindian expressive culture that nearly disappeared from view in the twentieth century, until it was reborn in recent decades"--Page 4 of cover.

For thousands of years, Native Americans used the physical act and visual language of tattooing to construct and reinforce the identity of individuals and their place within society and the cosmos. This book offers an examination into the antiquity, meaning, and significance of Native American tattooing in the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains.--Publisher description.

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.

Ten designs depict a Zuni symbol for the sun from a Corn Dance headdress, a Kwakiutl totem figure representing a thunderbird, and other Native American motifs. Identifications.

"Based on historical records, including the letters and diaries of Oatman's friends and relatives, The Blue Tattoo is the first book to examine her life from her childhood in Illinois including the massacre, her captivity, and her return to white society - to her later years as a wealthy banker's wife in Texas."--BOOK JACKET.

This account of the vanishing art of wmen's tribal tattooing is the record of anthropologist Lars Krutak's ten year research with indigenous peoples around the globe.

The Tattoo Encyclopedia provides the first comprehensive overview of tribal tattooing across history, continents, and ethnicities. Each group, clan, or community that practiced tattooing had its own places where people prepared for tattooing or where tattooing was performed. Tattoo sessions were accompanied by music, songs, or other rituals. They had tattoo artists and their assistants. Of course, they used various tattoo tools to carry and apply the designs. Last but not least, they also used different ingredients to obtain the inks for the tattoos. For all this, the different communities had their own names and terms, in their own language or dialect, and it is these terms, including descriptions, often already lost in history, that this book presents.

Tattooing is a very old and spiritually respected art form that has existed in many different cultures around the world. After many centuries of not being practiced in Europe, tattooing was re-introduced to the Western world through the inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean. Beginnning in the 16th century, European explorers came across many people who practiced tattooing as an integral part of their cultures. This is the first serious study of Filipino tattoos, and it considers early accounts from explorers and Spanish-speaking writers. The text presents Filipino cultural practices connected with ancestral and spiritual aspects of tattoo markings, and how they relate to the process and tools used to make the marks. In the Philippine Islands, tatoos were applied to men and women for many different reasons. It became a form of clothing. Certain designs recognized manhood and personal accomplishments as well as attractiveness, fertility, and continuity of the family or village. Facial tattoos occurred on the bravest warriors with names that denoted particular honor. Through the fascinating text and over 200 images, including color photographs and design drawings, the deep meanings and importance of these markings becomes apparent.