24 December 2007
A well known smear

This story begins around 3300 BE, over 5300 years ago. It was the time we now call the Bronze Age.
A man, around thirty-five years old, is climbing the Alps. He is alone and walks in the area that's now called the Otztaler Alps, at the border of presentday Italy and Austria.
What his name is, where he is going and what the aim of his journey is, we unfortunately do not know. We don't even know if he walks from south to north, or the other direction. And actually, it doesn't really matter. Let's call him mister O.
The man walks and climbs, higher and higher; he's never short of breath. He is strong and has done this before.
After some time he reaches the massive Schnalstal Glacier. This is a dangerous area of ice and snow, with invisible crevasses and sudden changes of weather. He knows the area and climbs almost effortlessly, despite the heavyweight clothes of his time.
And yet, something goes wrong.
We will never know exactly what happened. Maybe he was hit by a sudden snowstorm, maybe he fell through the snow into a crevasse; or who knows, perhaps he got an ancient heart attack, or coronary clog ups caused by stress and prehistoric tensions.
Whatever, our friend stayed where he was and did not move any more. His Alpine trip or journey through the world had ended prematurely.

We travel through time and space and move to the year 1991.
After Christ.
Global warming is hot. The Antarctic icebergs are melting, ancient glaciers start to lose their bulk and winters are getting mild.
Two hikers walk, climb and descend the Austrian Alps, close to the border with Italy. After three days of hiking in beautiful weather they reach the Schnalstal Glacier, which is smaller than it has ever been.
1991 has one of the most extreme hot summers of the last decades; snow and ice are melting in a high pace. The hikers walk on an old and now slippery layer of ice, until the one in front suddenly stops and points at a nearby spot. Something sticks out of the ice, something that doesn't resemble rocks, stones or boulders.
A little distant because they don't know what to expect, they slowly get closer. A short inspection tells them that what they are looking at is the deepfrozen body of a fellow climber. A climber though who has been here for a while, and who certainly does not belong to this era seeing his oldfashioned clothing.
A climber and hiker, just like them, but from way way back.
The frozen body is nearly in its original state and scientists fight to get a close look at it; the winners estimate the body to be over five thousand years old, the oldest recognisable human being ever found.
Mister O., the ice mummie from the Otztaler Alps is immediately world famous. He is given the name of Otzi, after the place where he was found, and the world honours him with the following nicknames: Otzi the Iceman, Frozen Fritz and the Similaun Man.
Scientists inspect and examine Otzi inside and out, hoping to find peculiar assets which teach us about men and their habits in the Bronze Age.
And what happens: the oldest human skin ever found anywhere... contains 57 tattoos.

We start the time machine again, and fortunately it still works fine. With dazzling speed and no minute too late we arrive in the year of 2005.
We leave the Alps behind us and take a look in the United States of America. The most popular actor of that time, and not to forget the greatest sex-symbol of women, mister Brad Pitt, is about to take an important decision in his life: choosing the design of a tattoo.
Like everyone, he has read about the oldest ice mummie in the world, and all the tattoos of the ancient stranger. Just like every human being he is impressed by the story of our very old fellow earth dweller, who's even older than the queen of England.
Brad decides to pay his respect to Otzi with a tattoo of his outline on his left front arm.
And so it happens.

Here's the machine again. In no time at all we beam to the year of 2007, Boxing Day.
We, that is us, are in Thailand, in the mountainous north, in the city of Chiang Mai.
Peter has had doubts for many years. Yes, no, yes, no. Everyone seems to have one, even his own wife, me, has one, but that's still not a reason for doing it. Is it?
For which reason would he go for it?

Medical?
Otzi had many tattoos on and around his wrists and many scientists suppose he did this to be protected against arthrosis, the illness he probably suffered from.
But Peter doesn't have arthrosis, he doesn't have any disease yet, so this cannot be a good reason.

Perhaps for identification?
Since long sea men wear tattoos, originally for easier identification after drowning.
But, drowning is not an issue, as long as he doesn't change his bicycle for a water bike.
During the Second World War concentration camps prisoners were given, involuntary, an identification number on their arm. And the members of the SS, the elite corps of Nazi-Germany, had their blood type tattooed in their armpits.
No, identification seems not a very good reason.

Maybe intimidation?
Members of the criminal organisation of Yakuza in Japan wear a recognisable tattoo, to proudly show they are a member of the gang and to frighten others.
Many gangs in the US and other countries have the same rules.
Other criminals show with their tattoos how long they did time or how many people they killed.
Not a very good reason for Peter either.

Maybe esthetical reasons?
Well, that might be it. Nowadays most tattoos are just for decoration. The problem is, he doesn't care about decorations or jewelry.
On the other hand, there is one tattoo that for many years already whirls in his head like a ghost. It is a well fitting piece of jewelry. And he did have enough time to ponder it.

Are there any reasons not to do it?
Muslims consider tattoos 'haram' and refer to certain parts in Koran (and Bible) for that reason.
Actually that's a shame for the extremists amongst them, who undoubtedly would like to eternalise the call for Jihad on their foreheads.
But well, Peter is not a Muslim, so he is free to do what he likes.

Another reason for declining is the well known danger of getting some kind of spooky disease, like hepatitis or HIV, when hygiene is bad.
But the time of dirty back chambers and filthy needles is over.
Especially here, in Thailand, one of the oldest tattoo countries.

It's almost Christmas.
He is going to do it.
Today.
The splendidly fitting tattoo has had a place in his mind for a long time and it never went away.
Today is the day.
He is going to do it.