Ancient Marks

"During seven years of travel to seven continents and thirty countries, Chris Rainier photographed the traditions of tattooing, scarifications, piercing, and other forms of body-altering art, origins of which date to the dawn of humankind. Here, in Ancient Marks: The Sacred Origins of Tattoos and Body Marking, Rainier presents more than one hundred elegant black-and-white images, revealing the haunting beauty of these often mystical forms. These striking images document humanity's enduring efforts to tell stories, forge identities and create links to the divine through body art. From the African savanna to the barrios of Los Angeles, from New Zealand to Egypt and Brazil to Burkina Faso, Rainier follows these marks on the human body to the powerful meanings that resonate within. Ancient Marks also includes a DVD featuring an expanded photo gallery with music by Anoushka Shankar."--Cover flap.