Ben, You didn't just smack a tribal design onto a thigh texture and call it done. There is a tribal to accent it, yes, but it isn't just tribal. That's what damn near all tribal sets are. With the occasional blending effects, ex: bevel, emboss, ect.
By the way, for the most part, embossing your designs doesn't add anything to them. But that's a whole different story, and a case I see rarely.
Regardless, I have yet to see a purely tribal set done anywhere near well. I'd love proof otherwise.
As well, I don't know that the level of realism has ever been as high as it was before 3.0 was released. I'm surprised at what the textures look like now. By comparison, good textures are few and far between, let alone excellent textures.
I wouldn't even say textures are becoming more realistic at all. They're just more well done cartoony sets.