T

The 1980s and 1990s have brought an increasing popularity of the so-called primitivist body decorations of tattooing, piercing, and scarification. Tattooing leaves permanent designs on the skin by the injection of indelible pigmented inks. Scarification leaves equally permanent markings by making shallow cuts in the skin that heal over into scar tissue. Piercing is typically used to create holes in the ears or other body parts into which decorative jewelry can be inserted.