Graffiti
Have you ever written anything on a wall? It's nothing new and for thousands of years humans have been writing messages on walls, bridges, and buildings as a means of expressing themselves.
Ancient Graffiti
Some of the first graffiti artists were the Vikings. You can read some at a prehistoric site in Scotland. The Vikings broke into the burial site about 800 years ago, hoping to find treasure. Unfortunately, there wasn't any; however, the cave was a good place to shelter from the terrible storm that night, where the Vikings left messages on the walls to pass the time. Interestingly, many of the things they wrote are typical of modern-day graffiti, for example, "John made this cross. "
Political Graffiti
At times, graffiti is used to make political statements. During World War, people in occupied Holland painted orange victory"V"signs on walls in major towns. Here's another example:" No more wars! "
American Graffiti
During the 1970s a new type of graffiti became popular in the States: tagging (标记) Bands of youngsters slipped away into the streets at night with cans of paint and left their tags on as many walls as possible. Sometimes they also responded to other people's graffiti. Some people see this form of graffiti as an example of urban art; others see it as an example of urban decline.
British Graffiti
In Britain, one of the most popular forms of graffiti is known as "toilet graffiti", which is common on the walls of public toilets all over the country. The graffiti often consists of a funny or rude comment. Occasionally it will be a response to another piece of graffiti, or at other times it will be a political comment.
