Parchment Paths

There was a time when many people thought of tattoos as belonging almost exclusively to sailors. Perhaps the reason for mostly sailors having tattoos, were that they sailed to the foreign lands where body art was much more common than in their home lands.   For example the elaborate tattoos of the Polynesian culture became popular among Europeans after James Cook's British expedition to Tahiti in 1769.             The sailors often would choose a tattoo symbolizing their profession, such as an anchor on their forearm where it could be easily displayed. The islanders' term "tatatau" or "tattau," meaning to hit or strike was a reference to their method of imprinting the designs unto the skin. The term eventually became our modern term tattoo.    In 1796 a congressional act was put into place to safeguard American seamen. In accordance with this, tattoos became a popular way for sailors to identify themselves as American citizens. Ta