MARKS OF CIVILIZATION Artistic Transformations of the Human Body Arnold Rubin, Editor Museum of Cultural History { University of California, Los Angeles LiAncient Egypt The ancient Egyptians were reticent about tat- t00 and there is almost no mention of it in their preserved written records." That tattoo did exist inancient Egypt is certain. This certainty derives froma small but exceedingly important group of tattooed mummies. These mummies are, however, far too few in number and too separated from each other in time to provide an adequate framework for generalization. Written records, physical remains, and works of art relevant to Egyptian tattoo have virtually been ignored by ‘ater Egyptologists influenced by then-prevailing Social attitudes toward the medium. What follows isa discussion of the litte that can be reasonably reconstructed from the evidence about tattoo in ancient Egypt.* Whatever secondary information ‘ean be gleaned from the artistic legacy concern: ing tattoo must, of course, acknowledge conven tions governing Egyptian aesthetics in general During the fourth millennium 8.c., an urban Civilization evolved in Egypt out of which the Great empires would emerge. The arts of this Predynastic Period include male and female figu- tines in a variety of media (Ucko 1968). The deco- Tation of some female figurines in clay is thought bby some to represent tattoo (Keimer 1948:fig. 3). ‘One such figure, which can be taken as typical of Ilie series, is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Ain New York (Fig. 1; Kantor 1974:pl. 191; Hays IGSsifig. 11; Ucko 1968:155). Its anatomy is ab- Stracted, and in that regard it has affinities with sieaiopygous statuettes from other pre-historic tures (see McCallum re: Jomon Japan). The un coated with'a white, unglazed slip Tattoo in Ancient Egypt Robert S. Bianchi onto which are painted a series of geometric pat terns in various colors. Traditionally, such deco ration, which is not found on male figurines of the period, was interpreted as representing tattoos, clothing, or 2 combination of both (Keimer 1948:181; Hornblower 1929:28; Thévoz 1984: 62-63). Such an interpretation concurs well with data from later historical epochs in which tattoo appears to be reserved exclusively for women. Human remains from the Predynastic Period are of no value in deciding the question because the craft of embalming did not fully develop until Dy nasty IV, about 2600 8.c. (Bianchi 1982). Extant female mummies from Dynasty IV do not exhibit tattoos, however. Recent investigation has shown that many of the motifs that adorn the figurines in question are identical to those that decorate some types of pottery from this same period (Kantor 1974).> At present, however, these pottery motifs should not be regarded as somehow derived from Or related to tattoos. Firm evidence of tattooing appears rather late in Egypt's cultural development. From the Predy- nastic Period through the Pyramid Age and into the period of political upheaval following the col- lapse of the Old Kingdom, there are no human re- mains and virtually no works of art that can be convincingly put forward as demonstrating the ex- istence of tattooing in ancient Egypt. During the course of the Middle Kingdom, however, the first incontrovertible evidence of tattoo enters the record. That evidence takes the form of actual tat- too preserved on the mummy ofa woman named Amunet, who served as a priestess of the goddessBianchi 1. Female figure from the Predynastic Period. Metropolitan Museum of Art 07.228.71, New York. 2. Configuration of the body decoration of the second mummy from the Middle Kingdom. From Keimer 1948.fig. 9, where the caption incorrectly identifies the mummy as that of Amunet. Hathor at Thebes during Dynasty XI, about 2160= 1994 (Winlock 1947:43). Her mummy was in an excellent state of preservation. Her tattoos com prise a series of abstract patterns of individual dots ‘or dashes randomly placed upon the body with apparent disregard for formal zoning (Keimer 1948:8; Bruno 1974:68-70). An elliptical pattern Cf dots and dashes is tattooed on the lower abdo- ‘men beneath the navel. Parallel lines of the same pattern are found on the thighs and arms. A see- ond mummy, identified as that ofa female dancer who lived at approximately the same time, is decorated with dots composed into diamond: shaped patterns on the upper arms and chest (Keimer 1948:8; Winlock 1947-43). In addition, this second mummy exhibits remarkable cicasix across her lower abdomen just above the pubic region (Fig, 2; Keimer 1948:fig. 9). This incision, whether made by knife or cautery, does not in vade the muscles of the abdominal wall and thus cannot be explained as surgery or a wound: A third female mummy, contemporaneous with the previous two, displays similar tattoos (Keimer 1948:8-9; Winlock 1947343) The elements and configurations of such tat toos are seen in a group of faience figurines also assigned to the Middle Kingdom (about 2000 8.¢) and generally labeled “Brides of the Dead.” One in The Brooklyn Muscum is naked and is depicted ‘wearing a wig, the curls of which overlap the tops of her breasts (Fig, 3; Bianchi 1983:n0. 25; 1985), This particular wig is associated with the goddess Hathor (Daumas 1977; Sourouzian 1981). Her body is decorated with a series of black dots, many in diamond-shaped patterns, that resemble the actual tattoo on the female mummies of the Middle Kingdom mentioned above (Bruyere 1939:128). Particularly intriguing is the horizon tal line of dots just over the pubic triangle that recalls the cicattix of the second of the female mummies mentioned above. All these figures are highly abstract: arms and hands merge into the thighs, and the legs ter: inate at the knees. Small in scale, easily fondled, and intentionally rendered physically helpless, such statuettes were interred with the deceased to arouse his primitive sexual instincts and, by means of an elaborate religious conceit associated with Osiris, the God of Resurrection, to insure magi- cally his rebirth (Bianchi 1983:no. 25; 1985). The priestess Amunet and the figurines in question ae all associated with Hathor, the most lascivious of all Egyptian goddesses (Daumas 1977). Conse: ‘quently the tattoos of this group of figurines and. of the mummy of Amunet have an undeniably caeAncient Egypt nal overtone. Apparently for reasons of prudery ‘earlier commentators held ancient Egyptian tattoo in low esteem and had little regard for those who were so decorated (Bruyere 1939:109; Omlin 1973:22; Keimer 1948:98; cf. Desroches-Noble- court 1953:43). Nevertheless, the eroticism which is undoubtedly associated with Egyptian tattoo of the Middle Kingdom correlates, at least as far the faience figurines are concerned, with a prevail ing religious attitude that linked physical procrea- tive drives with the loftier aspirations of a resurrection in the Hereafter (Desroches-Noble- court 1953:15). Therefore, unqualified moral judg- ments linking Egyptian tattoo exclusively with debased, carnal lust are inappropria Since tattoo does not appear to have been part of native Egyptian cultural tradition until the time of the Middle Kingdom, many (but not all) Scholars attribute its introduction to the Nubians, particularly since it has been demonstrated that ‘Amunet and the other two female mummies from the Middle Kingdom are associated with Nubia (Winlock 1947:43~44). From the fourth millenium BC. the region extending from Aswan, in the pres: tent Arab Republic of Egypt, to as far south as Khar: toum, the present capital of The Republic of the Sudan, was home to several distinct cultural phases that were, for the most part, quite independent of Egypt proper (Wenig 1978:21), One such cultural phase is designated by the rubric “The C-Group’ its peoples flourished during and after the time of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (O'Connor 1978). Excavations in C-Group horizons at the Nubian village of Kubban conducted by Firth in 1910 Drought to light fragments of a tattooed female mummy datable to about 2000 8. and therefore roughly contemporary with that of Amunet (Firth, 1927), Heer tattoos correspond closely to those found on Amunet and the other two mummies mentioned earlier (Keimer 1948:16-17; Vila 1967) Such tattoos, created by grouping dots and/or ashes into abstract geometric patterns demon. fe the long duration of tattoo in ancient Nubia, fecent excavations at the Nubian site of Aksha smonstrate, Excavators at Aksha uncovered a ‘of mummies of both adolescent and adult en with blue (or blue-black) tattoos in pre- ly the same configurations as those found on three Egyptian mummies from the Middle and those from the C-Group (Fig. 4; Vila 97:368, pl. XV; Seguenny 1984:151). The ar logical context in which these mummies found places them in the fourth century That such dot-and-dash tattoos persisted in ja in an unbroken tradition for almost two 3. Bride of the Dead. The Brooklyn Museum 44,226. 4. One of the mummies from Meroitic Aksba: From Vila 1967:373.Bianchi 5. Figural ostrakon from Deir el Medineb with a depiction of a Nubian tumbler. From Vandier d'Abbadie 1959:pl. CXXIH (2868). thousand years may be inferred from at least one representation of tattoo from the Egyptian New Kingdom, about 1000 B.¢.: a dotted triangle on the thigh of a Nubian tumbler on a figural ostra kon from Deir el-Medineh in Western Thebes (Fig. 5; Vandier d’Abbadie 1959). The Nubian tattoo represented on this ostrakon is the chronological link in the unbroken chain of Nubian tattoo that began with the mummy from Kuban and con: tinued through the New Kingdom into the Me oritic Period of the fourth century B.C. with the mummies from Aksha, Whether or not tattoo had the same erotic overtones for the Nubian peoples as it apparently did for the Egyptians is open to discussion; a great deal more investigation is re: quired before the issue is settled (Seguenny 1984:153; Wenig 1978:88-89). Available evidence, therefore, suggests that Egyptian tattoo was imported from Nubia and de veloped during the course of the Middle Kingdom, In addition to abstract patterns composed of dots and dashes, which reflect their Nubian origins, other motifs appear as painted decoration on some other classes of the Brides of the Dead in both limestone and faience (Fig. 6). Some of those de- sns have been interpreted as representations of 6. A Bride of the Dead in limestone. From Des roches-Noblecourt 1953:fig. 14 (Berlin 14517). tattoos although no such corresponding motifs have been found as tattoos on any preserved mummies. Of these decorations, the cross, oF let ter “t,” is the most common (Desroches-Noble: court 1953:13). This interpretation is analogous to the suggestion that the series of parallel lines in cised on bodies of terracotta female figurines re ently excavated at Gebel Zeit near Hurgadah on, the Red Sea represents tattooing (Mey 1980; Pose ner-Krieger 1984; Castel 1985). The earliest figu ines from Gebel Zcit are datable to the Second Intermediate Period, around 1700 BC,, an era of decentralization following the end of the Middle Kingdom. If the interpretation of these two types of designs on the body as tattoos can be main tained, one could posit that the Egyptians went considerably beyond the dot-dash patterns in which the medium was introduced In fact, tattoo is firmly established within the cultural traditions of the New Kingdom from 1550 BC. on. During this time tattoo continues to be reserved exclusively for women but is dramati cally transformed. Abstract geometric patterns of dots and dashes now give way to representations of the genius Bes, a curious deity thought to de rive from a leonine god of the Predynastic PeriodMuseum 37.710: representation of a female musician. Rijksmuseum van Oudbeden, AD 14 7. A figure of the god Bes in gold. The Brooklyn 8. Afaience bowl from the New Kingdom with a Ancient Egypt 9. Detail of a bronze mirror with a representa tion of a tattooed female figurine used as the ban: dle. The Brooklyn Museum 60.27.1 (Romano 1980).6 Bes was associated with the household and was employed as a protective talis: man on such objects as beds and chairs that came into direct contact with one’s person. He was also the tutelary deity of revelry and unbridled cavort- ing and, axiomatically, was thought to preside at childbirth (Fig. 7; Romano 1982:223-224). An ab- stract image of Bes tattooed in the time-honored dotand-dash method was found on a Nubian mummy at Aksha, datable to the fourth century Bc. (Fig. 4; Vila 1967). Asa result, one can inter: Pret the image of Bes shown on the thighs of representations of dancers or musicians in the art ‘of the New Kingdom as tattoos, so placed to remind one of his lascivious nature. Such a motif appears on the thigh of a female lute player on a faience bowl in Leiden (Fig. 8; Milward 1982:144-145) Two additional images of Bes appear as incised decoration on both thighs of a naked female figure in bronze that serves as a handle for a mirror now in Brooklyn (Fig. 9; Eaton-Krauss 1976:no. 47) The most eloquent Bes tattoo, however, is found in a wall painting from a private house in the craftsmen’s village at Deir el-Medineh in Western ‘Thebes (Fig. 10; Vandier d’Abbadie 1938). Here a lithe dancer, clothed in gossamer fabrics, grace- 25Bianchi 1 | Tie 10, The fresco from Deir el Medineb. From Van- dier d’Abbadie 1938:pl. w 3 11. A selection of images of Bes employed as tat. toos during the New Kingdom. From Keimer 1948:fig. 39. fully pirouettes. Upon her thigh is an image of Bes, ainted in dark blue-black colors that correspond, again, to the coloration of the tattoo of Bes on the mummy from Aksha. The significance of this par. ticular dancer and her tattoo is not fully under: stood. The initial publication of this fresco stressed the secular nature of the image and its erotic over: tones (Vandier d’Abbadie 1938), On the other hand, this fresco does decorate a wall to which is attached a benchlike structure that might hav been used for actual birthing (Bierbrier 1982). Un til additional evidence is forthcoming, the resolu tion of this queston will remain moot, particularly since the image of Bes can connote cither carnal love or childbirth (Romano 1980; 1982:223-224), With the exception, perhaps, of the fresco n Deir cl-Medinch, the appearance of Bes (Keimer 1948:41; Thévoz 1984:64) in association with the naked female figure typifies the carpe diem theme of much of the art of the New King, dom and inextricably links these representations to the small but significant corpus of Egyptian erotica that has recently begun to emerge (Bian 12. statuette of King Osorkon 1. The Brooklyn Museum 57.92. chi 1983:no. 70). Despite the self-censored nature of most modem public exhibitions of Egyptian art, the ancient Egyptians were sensually oriented and’ have discreetly indicated their penchant in that direction with representations such as those of the tattooed image of Bes (Fig. 11; Keimer 1948:fg, 39). Some scholars, motivated by “liberated” modern sensibilities, might label the ancient Egyp- ists” or “chauvinists” since Egyptian ta too is associated with a male-oriented view of women and eroticism. Such a stand is inappropri- ate because it ignores the wider cultural context of which tattoo is a part. The personae of the Soe called “Love Sonnets” of the New Kingdom are most often women musing abut the mutual satis faction of sexual encounters (Foster 1974:11,13, assim). The images of tattoos and their erotie as Sociations with women must be understood in terms of this wider cultural context (Derchaia 1982:168). In this context a reference in the Papyrus Bremner-Rhind is significant. There one reads, their name is inscribed into their arms as Isis 2613. Representation of a Libyan on a faience Plaque. Cairo, The Egyptian Museum JE 36457 d. and Nephthys ..." (Desroches-Noblecourt 1953: 2%; Sauneron 1960; Faulkner 1936, cf. Dolger 1929). The meaning of this passage is elusive at best. The key word is the verb mentenu, connot fing “to inscribe; 1 provide with an inscription; to eich; to engrave” (Mecks 1979; contra Keimer 1948.52). This determinative, like most Egyptian determinatives, isa single ideogram conveying, in generic sense, the meaning of the signs so deter- mined. Such a passage might imply that a design ‘was cut into the skin with a sharp instrument. In Terpreting this passage as evidence for a pigmented Scar, for which there is no corroborating evi- idence, places unwarranted emphasis on the de- ferminative and fails to accept the established denotative and connotative meanings of the verb ‘mentemu itself. The form of those putative tattoos emains problematic since there is no supporting evidence from any other medium to suggest that Jimages of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys were ‘er used for such decoration, Nevertheless, some Scholars cite an interesting artistic convention Tound on some stone sculptures, but more often Ancient Egypt on bronze, as a gloss for the passage in Papyrus Bremner-Rhind (Keimer 1948:64-70). Such statu ettes, which become exceedingly frequent from the end of the New Kingdom, have either hiero- glyphs or images of various deities, alone or in vi gnettes, depicted on their arms or chests (Fig, 12; Keimer 1948:64~70). These scholars contend that such representations embody the citation from the Papyrus Bremner-Rhind, More recent opinion, however, tends to re~ gard such decoration as an artistic convention that utilizes any available surface on a sculpture of fig: urine at random, rather than as.a true depiction of tattoo (Yoyotte 1958). The question of branding may also be relevant here, There is abundant evi- dence of the branding of cattle (Doll 1982:44~49) and human beings (Schneider 1977:16) by the an- cient Egyptians. Slaves and prisoners of war are said to have been branded. According to ancient texts, the verb employed, ab, “to brand,” is deter- mined by a fire (Bakir 1952:110; Kurchten 1981 81-84), Some scenes from the mortuary temple of Rameses IIT at Medinet Habu in Western Thebes have been proposed as examples of this practice, but there the implement appears to be merely a scribe's reed pen, indicating that only fugitive marks were being made (Osten 1927:33~35). Pa- Pyrus Anastasi docs contain a passage in which \colytes of the god Thoth are said to have been branded as an emblem of their indenture to that de- ity (Caminos 1954), but there seems to be no add tional evidence to support this literary testimony. ‘The immutable alteration of human skin by brand: ing needs to be considered in relation to, but ought not be confused with, tattooing in ancient Egypt. {C00 in ancient Egypt is neither indigenous ly. It makes its first appearance during the course of the Middle Kingdom at which time the Egyptians seem to have borrowed the form of the tattoo—a series of abstract patterns composed of dots and dashes in a bluish-black color—from the Nubians. Whereas the function of that type of tat too in Nubian civilization is open to question, the Egyptians appear to have regarded the tattoo as one of several vehicles by which the procreative powers of the deceased could be revived in the Hereafter in order to assure resurrection based on a complex Osirian model. The available evidence suggests that only women were so decorated and that these women were associated with ritual mu sic and, on occasion, with the goddess Hathor. Once adopted, the tattoo survives into the New Kingdom,” at which time its Osirian overtones, if the interpretation of the “t-shaped” designs on the officiants in the Tomb of Amennakht as tattoosBianchi can be maintained, appear to continue.® At the same time, the tattoo is transformed both in form and function. The dot-and-dash technique exists side-by-side with the introduction of a silhouette, invariably an image of the genius Bes. This motif imbues the subjects it adorns with a secular eroti cism divorced from religious connotations, as can be judged from the subject matter in Brooklyn: Despite the equivocal nature of the evidence pro- vided by the wall painting from Deir el-Medineh, the subject of both the Leiden bowl and Brookly mirror suggests the secular use of the tattoo to en: hance the latent eroticism of the objects it decor- ates, The mirror in Brooklyn is an example of how contemporary in outlook the ancient Egyptians were in this regard. The “message” is obvious; the woman who made herself up by using this mirror in her toilette might hope to become as seductive as the figure of the woman that serves as the han: dle of that mirror. That approach corresponds with modern advertising techniques, as even a passing familiarity with ads for cosmetics in con: temporary society reveals. One can conclude, therefore, that during the course of the New King. dom the ancient Egyptian tattoo enjoyed the height of its popularity and diversity. Reserved ex: clusively for women, ® the tattoo of the Egyptian New Kingdom could be at once imbued with either religious or secular overtones. This duality of function, which characterizes the Egyptian tattoo, may serve as a reminder that even today, in such a pluralistic society as ours, the tattoo continues to serve diverse needs and interests. The ancient Egyptian tattoo is to be regarded, therefore, as part of the larger cultural continuum of this particular medium, Notes 1. 1 would tke to thank the organizers and especialy Arnot Rubin for the kind invitacion to participate inthis sympo sium, I should ao like to thank Kyria Marcela Bianchi and Liltan Flowerman for assisting in the preparation of the manuscript and John Di Clement! for kindly providing Some of the visuals used in the llustratons 2. The role and status of the individual(s) who executed the tattoo le beyond the seape of the present essay 5. Both A. Kaeppler and S, Vogel informed me during the course ofthe body-art symposium that in Hawalian and Baule cultures, respectively, mots decorating the body ae also found as decoration on inanimate objects (also see Terns) An investigation ofthese and similar ethnographic analogies may eventually help to decide this issue for Egypt. Aleratively, the apparent body decoration on these female figures might be rearded asa conscious a tempe to replicate the enviconment in which they were in tended to exist magically. This hypothesis gains support 28 when one adduces statuettes of hippopotam! in turquoise Colored fence from the Middle Kingdom. These are fften decorated with representations of Nilo Nora and fauna asi to replicate the Nile marshes oftheir natural habitat (Mller 1975). Until addtional evidence is oct coming, any interpretation ofthe painted surfaces on these Eayphian female figurines from the Predynatic Period is necessarily speculative. This observation is based on D. E. Derry's notes on the [physial examination of the mummy in question, dated St December 1938, and published in full by Keimer 1948; 15, ‘The body jewelry depicted on this Nubian tumbler is reminiscent ofthat represented on the falence figurines of the Bees ofthe Dead from the Middle Kingdom (Figs As Romano demonstates, this handy legge dwarf ought to be called 2 Bes image because iis just one represen tion ofthe several distinctive Bes identities. For con venience, nevertheless, the designation "Bes" has been femployed throughout this essay. The cari arguments of ‘Ketmer (1943:159-161,508) linking certain images of Bes to the Shlluk and Nuct of the Nilote Sudan on the bis ‘an alleged correspondence hetween the Jolson some Egyptian tmages of Bes and the elcatrices ofthese Note peoples can now be dismissed in ight of Romano's more Fecent investigations. There is some speculation that some members ofthe Macedonian aristocracy, who riled Egypt as pharaohs fom 305-330 he, might have been tattooed. The ev dence is particularly strong in the case of Ptolemy 1V Philopator, who may have been tattooed with representa tions of leaves of Ivy as an emblem of his association with Dionysus, the God of Vine and the Revel (Le Corst 1978 Tondsau’1950a.b). For the possible Thracian origin of this use ofthe tatoo, see Zimmerman 1980, Although the decoration ofthis skin ofthe female offic ants inthe Tomb of Amennakht have been called tattoos (Desroches Noblecourt 1953:25-33), those "tshaped pattems cannot be convincingly associated with sia Shaped designs on some Brides of the Dead (Fg. 6) or twith the paseage under discussion Although both men and women used mirrors in ancient Egypt, avallable evidence sncates that mircors with ha desi the form of female figures ae tobe associated. ‘with women, rather than with men (Husson 1977). Although tatooed Black females are often represented sex symbols on Egyptiin toilette objets, one cannot a Sume thatthe tattoo ad similar erotic connotatons in Nu bian society: No such objects have heretofore been discovered in any Nubian context. Here one should ako fecal thatthe Nubians practiced scarfication, The ev: ence for this phenomenon, whichis not to be confused with att, devives from the Meroitie Period (Wenig 1978227). (On 4 group of falence tiles used to decorate some ofthe ‘oval palaces of the ate New Kingdom are depictions of the nine taditional foes of the Egyptans. Each foe, es tomarily 4 male figure, is represented asa stereotype in ative costume and core. Among the nine i the Libyan ‘who is depicted with markings on his flesh. These have been interpreted as representations of tattoo (Keimer 1948-105-107; Hayes 1937) and are the only evidence for PPharaonic Egyptian tatoo on males who ate intentionally ‘ot native Egyptians (Fig. 13)- It emains to be seen ‘whether this practice was the prototype for tatoo among the Berber peoples of Nosth Afi.