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When was the first electric tattooing device patented in the United States?
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Body modifications and mutilations
Peruvian elongated skulls, trephined male (left) and intact female (right), c. 1000 bc.
The first electric tattooing device was patented in the United States in 1891.1
This invention marked a significant development in the history of tattooing, a practice involving the introduction of pigment into the skin through ruptures, which has been used globally for purposes ranging from decoration and group identification to magical protection. While the term "mutilation" is sometimes associated with extreme forms of body alteration, tattooing is primarily recognized as a form of body modification used for aesthetic, social, or cultural expression.12