Paper short abstract:

The use of tattoos for cultural, decorative or cosmetic reasons has become common in contemporary society. Tattoos can assist in the identification of the dead. This paper will examine a number of historical cases where tattoo identification has been used and discuss the different meanings of some historical and contemporary tattoos.

Paper long abstract:

Police and medical personnel in Australia have recorded tattoo markings from deceased victims for over 140 years. During the 1800's authorities in Australia commenced maintaining records of the outlines of tattoos on convicted criminals along with other descriptive data. In 1902 the South Australia Police alone held more than 30,000 descriptive records, including tattoos, in the Adelaide Detective Office.

The use of tattoos to aid in the identification of deceased people is not a new phenomenon. Since the 1800's coroners and police have used tattoos to help identify the victims of accidents, crimes and disasters. Several cases from the late 1800's through to the present will be examined and discussed.

A number of historical and contemporary tattoos will be described, compared and discussed. Understanding the meanings of tattoos can provide investigators with clues to family, nationality, lifestyle or group affiliations that may assist in giving direction to their inquires to establish formal identification of the deceased.