The History of Ink.

Tattoos have been around for ages. And they have had many different uses and reasons.
Tattoos have been used for identification, rites of passage, religion, torture, and to mark criminals.

Over the ages, the methods used for creating tattoos have advanced as we gained more knowledge of infection, the body, and also recognized the need for sterilization of the equipment.
Originally, people created tattoos in a way that resembled scarification more than anything else. They cut their flush and rubbed ashes and other materials on and in the wound. Other cultures created tattoos by hand-tapping a stick dipped in ink into the flesh to deposit the ink in the correct layer of tissue for tattooing.
Another method that I saw used while watching a documentary on tattooing was sewing. The artist took string of some kind and coated it in the pigment, and sewed little bits of the design in at a time. This must be one of the most painful procedures for tattooing that I've came across in my studying the history of ink.

But what I am most interested in is the present day method of tattooing. I just felt the need to explain some history of tattoos so that you guys know I'm not some random kid who got one little tattoo and thinks they're a know-it-all. I've done research, and I'm fascinated by the history of body modification in general.

So that's all for now. I'll get started discussing modern tattooing in the next entry.