Chukchi

The Chukchi are a people of northeastern Siberia, especially Chukotka. Inland communities traditionally kept reindeer, while coastal communities hunted marine mammals and travelled along the Bering region.

Historical portraits show women's facial tattoos and other patterns on the body. Lines could express identity, protection or beliefs about fertility, depending on the community and wearer.

Tattooists could puncture the skin or draw pigment-coated thread beneath its surface. The second technique used the tools of sewing to leave permanent designs. Clothing and ornaments brought other skilled work into the body's appearance.

Related techniques occurred among neighbouring Siberian Yupik communities. Their histories are connected, but the peoples are distinct: the Yupik of St. Lawrence Island should not simply be called Chukchi.