Indonesia

Dayak tattooing in progress.

Several Indonesian tribes have a tattoo culture. One notable example is the Dayak people of Kalimantan in Borneo (Bornean traditional tattooing).

[edit] Europe

Pre-Christian Germanic, Celtic and other central and northern European tribes were often heavily tattooed, according to surviving accounts. The Picts were famously tattooed (or scarified) with elaborate dark blue woad (or possibly copper for the blue tone) designs. Julius Caesar described these tattoos in Book V of his Gallic Wars (54 BCE).
Ahmad ibn Fadlan also wrote of his encounter with the Scandinavian Rus' tribe in the early 10th century, describing them as tattooed from "fingernails to neck" with dark blue "tree patterns" and other "figures."^[3] During the gradual process of Christianization in Europe, tattoos were often considered remaining elements of paganism and generally legally prohibited.
According to Robert Graves in his book The Greek Myths tattooing was common amongst certain religious groups in the ancient Mediterranean world, which may have contributed to the prohibition of tattooing in Leviticus. However, during the classic Greek period, tattooing was only common among slaves.

Japan

Main article: Irezumi

Tattooing for spiritual and decorative purposes in Japan is thought to extend back to at least the Jōmon or Paleolithic period (approximately 10,000 BCE) and was widespread during various periods for both the Japanese and the native Ainu. Chinese visitors observed and remarked on the tattoos in Japan (300 BCE).
Between 1603 - 1868 Japanese tattooing was only practiced by the "ukiyo-e" (The floating world culture). generally firemen, manual workers and prostitutes wore tattoos which communicated their status. Between 1720 - 1870 Criminals were tattooed as a visible mark of punishment, this actually replaced having ears and noses removed. A criminal would often receive a single ring on their arm for each crime committed which easily conveyed their criminality. This practice was eventually abolished by the "Meji" government who banned the art of tattooing altogether, viewing it as barbaric and unrespectable, this subsequently forced a sub culture of criminals and outcasts, many of whom were the old Samurai warriors ("Ronin" - Master less). These people had no place in "decent society" and were frowned upon, they were kept separate and simply could not integrate into mainstream society because of their obvious visible tattoos, this forced them into criminal activities which ultimately formed the roots for the modern Japanese mafia - "Yakuza" for which tattoos in Japan have almost become synonymous.
A tattoo is body art made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification purposes. The first written reference to the word, "tattoo" (or Samoan "Tatau") appears in the journal of Joseph Banks, the naturalist aboard Captain Cook's ship the HMS Endeavour in 1769: "I shall now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, each of them is so marked by their humor or disposition".
Tattooing has been practiced for centuries worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, traditionally had facial tattoos. Today one can find Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Māori of New Zealand, Hausa people of Northern Nigeria, Arabic people in East-Turkey and Atayal of Taiwan with facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples and among certain tribal groups in the Taiwan, Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world.

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China

Tattooing was popular among many ethnic minorities in China since ancient time. However, among the Han Chinese (the major ethnic group) Tattoo has been associated with barbaric, criminals, gangsters and bandits since at least Zhou Dynasty (1045 BC to 256 BC). Tattooing Chinese character "Prisoner" (囚) or other characters on convicted's or slave's face was a practice until the last dynasty Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912).
Tattooing has been featured in one of the Five Classic Novels in Chinese literature, Water Margin, in which at least three of the 108 characters, Lu Zhi shen (鲁智深), Shi Jin (史進) and Yan Ching (燕青) are described as having tattoos covering nearly the whole of their bodies. Wu Song (武松) has tattoo on his face due to killing Xi Men Qing (西门庆) with vengeance. In addition, Chinese legend has it that the mother of Yue Fei (岳飛), the most famous general of the Song Dynasty, tattooed the words jing zhong bao guo (精忠報國) on his back with her sewing needle before he left to join the army, reminding him to "repay his country with pure loyalty".
Marco Polo wrote of Quanzhou "Many come hither from Upper India to have their bodies painted with the needle in the way we have elsewhere described, there being many adepts at this craft in the city."
The traditional Han Chinese view especially Confucianism believes that the body is a gift of parents and continuation of the bloodline of the ancestors. Damaging the body is a grave offense. Tattooing and piercing (except women's ear piercing) are generally not accepted by the community. This view can be reflected by the fact that many Han Chinese was killed at the beginning of Qing Dynasty when they refuse to obey the Manchu government’s order that all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead (the Manchu hair style), see "Queue Order".

Tattooing in prehistoric times

Supposed Neolithic Tattoo,discovered on modern day Romania, PreCucuteni Culture, clay figure 4900-4750BC.

A tattoo on the right arm of a Scythian chieftain whose mummy was discovered at Pazyryk, Russia. The tattoo was made more than 2,500 years ago.

Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice since Neolithic times. "Ötzi the Iceman", dated circa 3300 BC, bore 57 separate tattoos: a cross on the inside of the left knee, six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidneys and numerous small parallel lines along the lumbar, legs and the ankles, exhibiting possible therapeutic tattoos (treatment of arthritis). Tarim Basin (West China, Xinjiang) revealed several tattooed mummies of a Western (Western Asian/European) physical type. Still relatively unknown (the only current publications in Western languages are those of J P. Mallory and V H. Mair, The Tarim Mummies, London, 2000), some of them could date from the end of the 2nd millennium BC.
One tattooed Mummy (c. 300 BC) was extracted from the permafrost of Altaï in the second half of the 15th century (the Man of Pazyryk, during the 1940s; one female mummy and one male in Ukok plateau, during the 1990s). Their tattooing involved animal designs carried out in a curvilinear style. The Man of Pazyryk, a Scythian chieftain, is tattooed with an extensive and detailed range of fish, monsters and a series of dots that lined up along the spinal column (lumbar region) and around the right ankle (illustrated at right).

Philippines 1908 photo of a Filipino Bontoc warrior bearing a Head hunters 'Chaklag' Tattoo Tattooing has been a part of Filipino tribal life since pre-Hispanic colonisation of the Philippine Islands, When the Spanish first landed in the Philippine Islands, they were met by the tribal people of the Visayas, who had full body tattooing, the Spanish dubbed these Islands as "La Isla De Los Pintados" or "The Islands of the Painted Ones".[1] Tattooing in the Philippines is a tribal form of rank and accomplishments, some tribes believed that tattoos had magical qualities. The more famous tattooed Filipino tribes where the tribal peoples of the mountains of North Luzon, especially among the Bontoc Igorot, Kalinga, and Ifugao peoples, which were infamous for Head-hunting. A tribal member received a tattoo (known as a "Chaklag") which meant they have taken the head of an enemy tribe or warrior.[2] There are many very different variations, traditions and styles of tattooing in the Philippines, most depend on the region and tribe they come from as each vary.[1] Filipino tattooing was first documented by the European Spanish explorers as they landed among the Islands in the late 16th century. Before European exploration it was a widespread tradition among the islands. Tattooing was set around mostly Tribal groups of the Philippines, which tattooing was a sign of Rank and power in the tribal community, many Tattoos could only be attained by accomplishing a task, or passage of rites.[2] Women in Filipino tribal society also traditionally tattooed themselves, and tattooing was seen as a form of beauty among women. Notably women of the Luzon mountain tribes received full arm and chest tattooing, whilst in the Visayas and Mindanao they typically only tattooed their hands and wrists.[1]

Philippines

1908 photo of a Filipino Bontoc warrior bearing a Head hunters 'Chaklag' Tattoo

Tattooing has been a part of Filipino tribal life since pre-Hispanic colonisation of the Philippine Islands, When the Spanish first landed in the Philippine Islands, they were met by the tribal people of the Visayas, who had full body tattooing, the Spanish dubbed these Islands as "La Isla De Los Pintados" or "The Islands of the Painted Ones".^[1] Tattooing in the Philippines is a tribal form of rank and accomplishments, some tribes believed that tattoos had magical qualities. The more famous tattooed Filipino tribes where the tribal peoples of the mountains of North Luzon, especially among the Bontoc Igorot, Kalinga, and Ifugao peoples, which were infamous for Head-hunting. A tribal member received a tattoo (known as a "Chaklag") which meant they have taken the head of an enemy tribe or warrior.^[2] There are many very different variations, traditions and styles of tattooing in the Philippines, most depend on the region and tribe they come from as each vary.^[1]
Filipino tattooing was first documented by the European Spanish explorers as they landed among the Islands in the late 16th century. Before European exploration it was a widespread tradition among the islands. Tattooing was set around mostly Tribal groups of the Philippines, which tattooing was a sign of Rank and power in the tribal community, many Tattoos could only be attained by accomplishing a task, or passage of rites.^[2] Women in Filipino tribal society also traditionally tattooed themselves, and tattooing was seen as a form of beauty among women. Notably women of the Luzon mountain tribes received full arm and chest tattooing, whilst in the Visayas and Mindanao they typically only tattooed their hands and wrists.^[1]