Tattoo the World: Princess Ukok

Tattooing had been around for millenniums almost as long as we have been able to communicate we have been marking our bodies. I am not against tattoos actually quite the opposite I love it and am always looking forward to my next sitting. One thing I do enjoy is the history of tattooing, I find it very interesting how all sorts of different cultures separated by miles would all perform similar rituals.

Recently a very interesting and cool piece of skin art history has come into the spotlight. About two decades ago mummified remains were found in Altai Mountains that were preserved in the permafrost so that some of the skin with ink remained intact. In case your geography is a little rusty the Altai Mountains are found where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan meet, don’t worry I had to look that up.

The mummy, or princess Ukok as the scientists have named her, was found with many of her earthly possessions surrounding her so as to take them with her to the afterlife. Little Miss Ukok is believed to be a woman of some sort of importance in her culture and is thought to be a part of the ancient nomadic Pazyryk people. Her sick sleeves of ink were to show her power and accomplishments to her people who existed over 2,500 years ago.

 

She looks very attractive would you say? Don't judge her to hard I doubt any one would look as good after spending over two thousand years in a tomb underground. As you can see on her shoulder there her ink is still very much intact and well preserved on her leathery hide.

It is theorized that tattoos during this time period were used as a sort of passport system so as to identify who you are as you roam across territories. I almost would prefer this system if we were able to pick our own ink but in modern day terms it would be the same as us all having bar codes on our wrists.

It is uncertain as to whether the princess was a woman of high nobility or a holy woman or healer. To her extensive amount of skin art it is almost a given that within her tribe she was considered to be of high importance. This is what scientists and historians believe all of her tattoos would look like, it is a best guess.

She had a sick amount of ink and I am sure in her day she was a rad alternative chick who would be awesome to hang out with.

Sincerely Urban Yeti

What if Wednesdays: Tattoos

I find it challenging to come up with these what if questions every week, and more or less I use them as a creative exercise to flex my mental muscles. To come up with these I downloaded an app to make things a little easier so that I can focus more on my answers then on what questions I should ask. That being said some times I get questions that for me are a little ridiculous for example the question was "if you had to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it?" for me this is ridiculous because I already have four and am planning a whole bunch. Truth be told I have a sitting scheduled for later next month to colour one of my current pieces. I decided that I would tailor this question to fit my personality, so instead the new question is more of a list and less of a what if

What are my next five tattoos going to be

1. The weekend following my wedding this August my Wifey and I are getting puzzle pieces tattooed on our ring fingers. The puzzle pieces will be set so if we interlock our fingers the pieces will look like they fit together. I think this really represents us as a couple because with her I feel like I found my missing piece. Trust me I am very aware of how cheesy it sounds but it is the truth about how I feel.

2. On November 15th the day after my birthday I plan on getting a pair of wings tattooed on my right ankle because it will be the two year anniversary of the suicide of my best friend growing up. I am trying to think of something to say on a banner stretched between the wings but right now I am drawing a blank, something hopefully to remind me of him and express my remorse for not being a good friend in the last couple years, Perhaps a Marley quote.

3. On my right forearm I plan on getting an tattoo depicting Aries the Greek god of war to battle against Poseidon on my left fore arm.

4. A lot of tattoo parlors around the city have events where for a donation to charity you can get a small tattoo for a very cheap price. I plan on utilizing these to get a ring around my right bicep with the crests of the digidestened inside the ring one crest at a time.

5. A flaming bucking bronco on my right upper arm to represent the city of Calgary, where I have lived and grown in since I was four years old.