Modern and Ancient Body Modification

Ancient Marks Pictures: Tattoo Store Owner Swims Near Tahiti
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A Samoan man with traditional tattoos stands in a Western Samoan sunset. Throughout the Polynesian Pacific area, the traditional tatau tattoo died out as a result of a missionary ban on the practice. Western Samoa is considered one of the areas within the Polynesian culture where traditional tatau persisted.

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Photo gallery by Chelsea Lane-Miller
Photograph by Chris Rainier
 

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