Aleut tattoos: tools, paints, ornament, signification
No. 3 (30) (2023), Eurasian Heritage
No. 3 (30) (2023)

Aleut tattoos: tools, paints, ornament, signification

Eurasian Heritage
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46748/ARTEURAS.2023.03.003
Published 2023-09-30
Irina Yu. Ponkratova
Northeastern State University, Magadan, Russian Federation

eLibrary ID ponkratova1@yandex.ru

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3410-3430

Lyudmila V. Lbova
Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation; Branch of the Russian Academy of Arts in Krasnoyarsk “Regional Department of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Academy of Arts in Krasnoyarsk”, Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation

eLibrary ID lbova-lv@yandex.ru

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4103-7785

Lyubov S. Lebedeva
Northeastern State University, Magadan, Russian Federation

eLibrary ID lebedeva.lubov.magadan@yandex.ru

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2441-7284

Выпуск № 3 (30) 2023 журнала "Искусство Евразии"
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Keywords

Pacific region, Aleut, tattoo, tools, needles, coloring pigments, ornamental motifs, compositions, preservation of traditions,

How to Cite

Ponkratova I. Y., Lbova L. V., Lebedeva L. S. Aleut tattoos: tools, paints, ornament, signification // The Art of Eurasia, 2023. № 3 (30). P. 34-45. URL: https://doi.org/10.46748/ARTEURAS.2023.03.003.
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Abstract

One of the oldest semantic practices in the history of mankind is the tradition of decorating the body. The article proposes a reconstruction of the tattoo tradition among the Aleuts. This is one of the oldest peoples of Northern Pacifica. Materials of the collection collected by I.G. Voznesensky (funds of the Peter the Great Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kunstkamera)), and ethnographic descriptions and archaeological data are presented. The analysis of tattoo tools showed a special attitude to these subjects, their special status and the significance of the procedure. The analysis of tools, colouring pigments, and ornaments revealed the peculiarities of tattooing among the Aleuts. After pretreatment coal, white lime, copper ore, blood were used as paint. According to ethnographic materials, the Aleuts tattooed their heads and bodies. They especially tattooed such ornamental areas as the face (cheeks, chin), the front of the forearm, back, arms, and legs. The hypothesis of understanding the process of tattooing as one of the main traditional elements of culture among the indigenous population of the Pacific coast of Asia and America is proposed. Modern Aleuts have abandoned tattoos on the face and body, but at the same time, there are projects in Canada and the USA that are aimed at preserving tattoo traditions.

https://doi.org/10.46748/ARTEURAS.2023.03.003

Acknowledgments

The article was carried out within the framework of research, development and technological work, № 122030300070-6 “The oldest tattoos of Northern Pacifica: origin, functions, semantics” at the expense of the grant of the Russian Academy of Sciences No. 22-28-01112, https://rscf.ru/project/22-28-01112.

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