NAVIGATOR AD Click below!

Thursday, February 17, 2000 Scene    OVER TIME    A unique part of history   FILE PHOTO   From the olden days Sailors and explorers brought back the art of tattoos from foreign lands. Max Sturgeon STAFF WRITER   At one time tattoos were only accepted among sailors, bikers or freaks.   Today it seems like almost everyone has a tattoo. Hell, your mom's probably got one in a place you don't want to know about. So where did this trendy art originate, and how did it reach our culture?   Bob Munden, tattoo artist at the Fiery Dragon Tattoo and Body Piercing Studio, said tattoos have existed in far-off cultures for a long time.   "Tattoos have been around since the beginning of time. They've found mummies that are four and five thousand years old.   Munden said that tattoos at this time served as a symbol of social status.   "Each one told a story about who you were or what your position in society would be," he said.   Many people associate tattoos with bikers and rock stars. However, tattoos haven't always been associated with extremists.   Famous explorers even donned tattoos, Munden said.   "Explorers got it from the Polynesians. The Polynesians used tattoos as a historical device," he said. "Tattoos told their family history, like the Indians used to write it out on buffalo hides. Each Polynesian had a different tattoo that told a different story."   Explorers weren't the only ones who got tattooed in the days of yore. People of royalty and high status even had them. King George V, King Oscar of Sweden and even Sir Winston Churchill's mother had tattoos.   Munden said people of high status acquired tattoos as a way of exemplifying power.   "Only the rich and the people who were really important were the ones who had that type of stuff. The lower classes didn't have positions in government, so they didn't have tattoos," he said.   In olden times, all tattoos were given by hand, Munden said. When electrical tattooing became accessible, Munden said the process became easier.   "This sped up the process, and it made things a lot easier for us," he said.   Munden said a common misconception held by the public throughout time about tattoos is that they make you look tough.   "A tattoo doesn't make you tough or mean," he said. "If you weren't bad or tough before you got the tattoo, you are not going to be after you get one," he said.   Current Headlines Scene

The Student Newspaper at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky