Article content

Santhiya Raghavan Dhwani Patel

Abstract

Body modification has been a part of human society for thousands of years, and tattoos have become one of the most expensive ways to show personal and social meaning. In this article, bitemark tattoos, a less common but growing trend in body modification, and the cultural meanings of tattoos in different cultures and how they have changed over time as a way of expressing oneself and finding oneself are explored. Bitemark tattoos are given a lot of attention because they have deep symbolic meanings and are often linked to power relations and emotional release. The artistic process behind creating these tattoos is analysed, highlighting the skill involved in translating the organic form of a bite into a stylized tattoo design. Additionally, the forensic significance of bitemark, typically studied in the context of criminal investigations, is discussed concerning this art form. This duality- where bitemark serves both as forensic evidence and a medium of artistic expression- presents a fascinating intersection of law, art, and psychology. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of bitemark tattoos within the broader landscape of tattoo culture and body modification, offering new insights into their symbolic and forensic dimensions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Dr. Suman B, Anujna BM, Dr. Nusrath Fareed, Dr. Medha Babashet, Dr. Srikanth H Srivathsa. Credibility of bite mark analysis in forensic odontology: A diagnostic accuracy trail. Int J Forensic Med 2024;6(1):18-25. DOI: 10.33545/27074447.2024.v6.i1a.71

Burchak I.N., Vorobchuk M.S., Puz' A.D. Tattoo drawings as an artistic heritage of society: history and modernity. Theory and Practice of Design. Sciences. Works. Culture and art. 2023. Issue. 29–30. pp. 139–145. doi: https://doi.org/10.32782/2415-8151.2023.29-30.16

Lim, W. M., Ting, D. H., Leo, E., & Jayanthy, C. (2013). Contemporary Perceptions of Body Modifications and Its Acceptability in the Asian Society: A Case of Tattoos and Body Piercings. Asian Social Science, 9(10). doi:10.5539/ass.v9n10p37

Kierstein, L., & Kjelskau, K. C. (n.d.). Tattoo as Art, the Drivers Behind the Fascination and the Decision to Become Tattooed. Current Problems in Dermatology, 37–40. doi:10.1159/000369180

Simone Alter-Muri (2019): The Body as Canvas: Motivations, Meanings, and Therapeutic Implications of Tattoos, Art Therapy, DOI: 10.1080/07421656.2019.1679545

Giannelli, Paul C., "Bite Mark Analysis" (2007). Faculty Publications. 153. https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/153

Ferreira, V. S. (2011). Becoming a Heavily Tattooed Young Body. Youth & Society, 46(3), 303–337. doi:10.1177/0044118x11427839

FISHER, J. A. (2002). Tattooing the Body, Marking Culture. Body & Society, 8(4), 91-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X02008004005

Anthony Cardoza (2023) Forensic Odontology and Bite Mark Analysis: Understanding the Debate, Journal of the California Dental Association, 51:1, 2210332, DOI: 10.1080/19424396.2023.2210332

Malik SD, Pillai JP, Malik U. Forensic genetics: Scope and application from forensic odontology perspective. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol 2022;26:55863.

Kang, M., & Jones, K. (2007). Why do People get Tattoos? Contexts, 6(1), 42-47. https://doi.org/10.1525/ctx.2007.6.1.42

Mary Kosut (2000) Tattoo Narratives: The intersection of the body, self‐identity and society, Visual Sociology, 15:1, 79-100, DOI: 10.1080/14725860008583817

Polson, C. J. (1948). Tattooing. Transactions of the Medico-Legal Society for the yearÖ, 16(3), 96–102. doi:10.1177/002581724801600303

Saks, M. J., Albright, T., Bohan, T. L., Bierer, B. E., Bowers, C. M., Bush, M. A., … Zumwalt, R. E. (2016). Forensic bitemark identification: weak foundations, exaggerated claims. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 3(3), 538–575. doi:10.1093/jlb/lsw045

Dey A, Das K (2017) Why We Tattoo? Exploring the Motivation and Meaning. Anthropol 5: 174. doi:10.4172/2332-0915.1000174

Wohlrab, S., Stahl, J., & Kappeler, P. M. (2007). Modifying the body: Motivations for getting tattooed and pierced. Body Image, 4(1), 87–95. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.12.001

Fagr F H Y. Human Bite Mark. J Forensic Sci & Criminal Inves. 2017; 4(4): 555647. DOI: 10.19080/JFSCI.2017.04.555647.

Sreenivas, Sujith C. “Human Bite Mark-A Physical Evidence.” Medico-Legal Update (2019): n. pag.

Miranda, Michelle, et al. "Tattoos and tattoo inks: forensic considerations". WIREs Forensic Science, vol. 2, no. 1, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/wfs2.1360

Sauerwein K, Butler JM, Reczek KK, Reed C (2023) Bitemark Analysis: A NIST Scientific Foundation Review. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD), NIST Interagency Report (IR) NIST IR 8352. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8352

Article details

Section
Review Article
Copyright Information
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

     You must read and accept the copyright terms and conditions(click here for copyright terms).