Native American Warrior Running Barefoot

One of the observations Europeans made of Native American people during the early contact period was the personal decorations on both men and women in the form of tattoos. These designs reportedly included geometric and zoomorphic shapes, in some cases covering the entire body. This tradition was recorded not only in early etchings made for circulation in Europe, but also in portraits of chiefs visiting England. These images and written first-hand accounts have been the principle source to our reconstructions of the appearance of Native peoples living in the Eastern woodlands during the 18th century.