What is Literature?

The origin of the word comes from the latin expression “litterae” which means letters or instructions, group of knowledge or skills for writing and reading well. It is also related to grammar, rhetoric and poetry.
Literature represents written or spoken words marked with the careful usage of language, including features such as creative metaphors, well-turned phrases, elegant syntax, rhyme, alliteration and meter. It must be included in a literary genre (poetry, prose fiction, or drama) and it is intended by the author to be read aesthetically. Spoken words are also considered literature because of the genres of poetry and drama (plays and interpretations) and most probable because this was the way epic stories were transmitted from generation to generation before the invention of the Gutenberg press.
Sometimes considered the science of well writing, other times considered the art of the words; literature has been with mankind since the interpretation of the first cave paintings.
That brings us to the general question: What is Literature? Can simple pictures of the history of mankind be considered Literature? If so, Can body art like Tattoos and Piercing be considered a form of Literature, because of the interpretation we give to this art?