The art of tattoing starts in the country of Egypt, it is not known if they invented it but the oldest examples have been found in Egypt. It is thought that they adopted this strategy from Nubia, the art of tattoing flourished during the Middle Kingdom but the oldest sign of the existence of them dates 4,000 b.C. Prostitutes, concubines, priestesses, dancers, servants and acrobats sometimes got tattos on their arms, torso, pelvis, pubic area or in the upper part of the thigh. Because of the choice of location for the tattoo it can be said that it had an erotic, maternal or reproductive purpose. It is almost certain that tattoing was only done to women but scarce examples show that men also got them. The impliment used was a short, thin wooden stick with five or seven needles tied to the end of it. The five needle one used for children. The needles were dipped in a solution of oil and a blueish or dark blue pigment called Lamp Black. Female mummies from the Middle Kingdom have been found with these tattoos. Amaunet's mummy, a priestess of Hathor sometimes also described as Mentuhotep II's concubine still shows visible eliptic lines above her pubic area and parallel lines across her arms. Dots, curved lines and geometric designs were the most common tattoos. At the beginning of the New Kingdom the art started to fade although reliefs, statues and figurines have been found with tattoos of the god Bes on their upper thigh and mummies from the 19th dynasty show tattoos of the goddess Neith. Images of deities were applied to the skin mostly with the purpose to make conception, pregnancy and childbirth easier; to protect prostitutes from being with a client with disease, infection or bad intentions and surely to help the female be more fertile. It is thought that egyptians practiced the art of tattoing with three main reasons: connect with the divine, as an act of sacrifice to a deity or as an permanent amulet that could never get lost; provider of magic or medical protection.
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