The Mohawk or Mohican is a hairstyle which consists of shaving either side of the head, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair. Mohawks became common in youth punk subcultures in the early 1980s and were then adopted by various other groups, becoming more diverse in style. Today, Mohawks are still associated with the Punk subculture, but have become a part of mainstream fashion.

The Clonycavan Man, a 2,300-year-old male bog body found near Dublin, Ireland was found to be wearing a Mohawk, held together with plant oil and pine resin imported from southwestern France or Spain. The Mohawk is often thought to have been worn by the Mahican and Mohawk tribes, but the name may be a misnomer; it is believed that the Wyandot were the first Native American tribe to wear the hairstyle, but early French explorers mistook them for the Mohawk tribe.

In more recent times, both sides of the head are shaved or buzzed, and the remaining hair is long and often spiked in the middle. The hairstyle is generally known as a "Mohawk" in the United States and a "Mohican" or "Mowie" in the United Kingdom. In Punk fashion, the Mohawk is often dyed brilliant colors and the center strip of hair worn so that it points straight up, often to impressive height. The Mohawk also appears in the Goth subculture, a descendant of punk; with the hair spiked or long.

Besides as part of punk fashion, the Mohawk became known with the popularity of Mr. T, the actor who first became famous playing the boxer Clubber Lang in the movie Rocky III and later as Sgt. B.A. Baracus in the television series The A-Team. Another well-known popular culture depiction of the Mohawk came from Martin Scorsese's 1976 film Taxi Driver.

Wikipedia Article: Mohawk hairstyle