Brief guide about tattoos

The tattoo's history can be traced back to the fourth millennium BC in Europe and 2000 BC in Egypt, and the current interest in tattoos is evident in many ways: in advertisements, the stereotypical "outlaw biker" character in films and television, the availability of temporary tattoos for children and even the production of a tattooed Barbie doll. Tattoos have become a significant statement, a means of interpersonal communication without words, across the globe.In October, 1991, a five thousand year old tattooed man made the headlines of newspapers all over the world when his frozen body was discovered on a mountain between Austria and Italy. He had apparently been hunting and was caught in a snowstorm as he tried to return home. Together with the body were clothing, a bow and arrows, a bronze ax and flint for making fire.The skin is of great interest because it bears several tattoos: a cross on the inside of the left knee, six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidneys and numerous parallel lines on the ankles. Spindler stated that the position of the tattoo marks suggests that they were probably applied for therapeutic reasons.
Tattoos is probably the oldest known form of art preservation.
So far no such mummyfied tattoo art has been found in Malaysia so the exact truth about how far back tattooing went in Malaysia is still unknown.However, our very close neighbours, Borneo, has a more interesting history.
Borneo is one of the few places in the world where traditional tribal tattooing is still practiced today just as it has been for thousands of years. Until recently many of the inland tribes had little contact with the outside world. As a result, they have preserved many aspects of their traditional way of life, including tattooing.
One reason for the physical and cultural isolation of the inland natives is the sheer size of Borneo. It covers an area five times as large as England and Wales, and ranks as the third largest island in the world (only Greenland and New Guinea are larger). The landscape consists for the most part of steep hills, mountains, and dense rain forests. There are few roads, and most travel occurs by air or by boats which traverse Borneo¹s many rivers.
Recent archaeological finds indicate that the ancestors of some contemporary native tribes have lived in Borneo for over 50,000 years. Well into the twentieth century many of them lived the life of the stone age. They fished, hunted, and cultivated rice just as their ancestors had. Game was abundant and the forest constantly renewed itself.
They probably had natural herbs for medicine and lived a carefree tattooed life.
Sometimes I wish I was born then,then again,maybe I was cos i believe in reincarnation.