From pagan practice to modern self-decoration For a long time tattooing was regarded as a pagan practice that was shunned by the Christian church and prohibited in Europe under the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine. In Judaism and partly in Islam tattoos are not permitted which has led to non-permanent henna tattoos in some Islamic societies. In Europe tattoos were reintroduced when British sailors returned from the South Pacific in the 17th century, many of them wearing tattoos. Gradually tattoos became more and more accepted in society, especially when members of the British royal family entered the scene in the 19th century (e.g. King George V and Edward VII). Since the late 1960s tattooing has also made its way into pop culture and only recently into sports. Today many pop artists as well as football stars brand their tattoos. In spite of this long history tattoos are still regarded as a sign of subculture. Their permanent character seems to make them attractive as a means of self-modification and identification. Or as Prof Jablonski puts it, “Tattoos are part of an ancient and universal tradition of human self-decoration and expression. They convey their messages without words and sometimes even long after death.” Permanent and non-permanent But humans do not only use tattoos to alter their skin. In fact, most people adorn their skin in one way or another. On the one hand they might make permanent changes like piercing, scarring, branding, implanting, tattooing to memorialise events, to modify their appearance or to convey messages about their identity. On the other hand they might use cosmetics to achieve similar goals. According to Prof Jablonski all this shows that humans are “the self-decorating ape”. c) When you have finished, make a mind map of the main ideas about which you have read and add all the information you can remember. Return to the text as often as necessary but do not work with the book straight away. Use colours to organise your mind map. Review Now retell the whole text in your own words using the mind map and your notes. If you get to a stage where you cannot go on, go back to the text, read the passage again and memorise it. 4 30 35 40 45 50 137 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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