The History of Body Piercings - Ancient and Fascinating Around the World

When most people think of Humanities, what comes to mind is usually basic information that's not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there's a lot more to Humanities than just the basics.
The History of Body Piercings - Ancient and Fascinating Around the World


Body piercings have seen a resurgence of interest in the last ten to twenty years and are becoming more and more a part of the mainstream Western culture. Proceeds a look at any fashion or entertainment reminiscence and you'll see uncommonly of well - known celebrities with body piercings like navel rings or a labret. You might be surprised to asset out that piercing is actually an ancient system of expression that most
cultures have practiced at some time or other for thousands of years.

Egyptian body piercings reflected level and love of beauty

The earliest known mummified remains of a human that was pierced is over 5, 000 years old. This worthy gentleman had his ears pierced with larger - gauge plugs in his ears, so plugs may be one of the oldest forms of body modification there is! We besides know that the Egyptians loved to add to themselves elaborately, and even restricted certain types of body piercings to the royal family. In reality, only pharaoh himself
could have his navel pierced. Any one higher who tried to get a belly button ring could be executed. ( Tell that to Britney Spears! ) Almost every well - to - do Egyptian wore earrings, though, to display their finance
and accent their beauty. Elaborate enameled and gold earrings frequently portrayed items in nature coextensive as lotus blossoms.

Body piercings are also mentioned in the Bible. In the Old Testament it's palpable that body jewelry is considered a mark of beauty and wealth, especially for Bedouin and nomadic tribes. In many cases, body jewelry was given as a bridal gift or as part of a dowry. It is clear that piercing
was a sign of status and allure in Biblical times.

Romans were competent piercers

Romans were right practical people, and for them piercing halfway always served a purpose. Roman centurions pierced their nipples not seeing they liked the way it looked, but to signify their strength and virility. It was a badge of honor that demonstrated the centurion's dedication to the Roman Tract. As a symbol, it was chief and served a specific function, unifying and bonding the army. Even Julius Caesar pierced his nipples to show his proficiency and his identification with his men.

Genital piercing wrapped up the prong of the penis was performed on gladiators, who were almost always slaves, for two reasons. A ring through the head of the penis could be used to tag on the organ back to the testicles with a loop of doeskin. In gladiatorial combat, this prevented serious injury . With a large enough uproariousness or bump, it also prevented the slave from having men disappeared the owner's consent.
Since the gladiator was " property, " a stud remuneration could be charged to another hostage owner for the intensely prized opportunity to raise the next reproduction of great fighter.

Making love or war, piercing makes it better

Going across the ocean at around the same time, the Aztecs, Maya and some American Indians practiced tongue piercing as part of their religious rituals. It was deriving to bring them closer to their gods and was a type of ritual damask - letting. The Aztec and Maya were warrior tribes, and also practiced septum piercing in order to time in fiercer to
their enemies. Nothing looks quite as frightening as an opponent sporting a huge boar tusk thrust through his nose!

This practice was and common among tribes in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Some of the materials commonly used were bone, tusks and feathers. Hundreds of years later, French fur trappers in Washington State discovered American Indian tribes who wore bones through their septum and called them the Nez Perce, meaning " Pierced Noses " in French. It's interesting that civilizations separated by thousands of miles and same centuries often developed a love for the equivalent amicable of body piercings to enhance certain features, isn't it?

In Central and South America, lip labrets were popular for purely aesthetic reasons - women with pierced lips were considered more superb. In fact, the holes were often gangling to incredible size as progressively larger wooden plates were inserted to accent the lips as much as abeyant. ( Kind of consistent collagen directly ). The Aztecs and Maya also sported declare labrets of gold and jade, many of them elaborately carved
into mythical or religious figures or sporting gemstones. These were seen as highly attractive and to enhance womanliness.

As the world moved into the dark ages, interest in piercing died down tolerably and the medieval church began to condemn it as flagitious. For a few hundred years, Western civilization abandoned the practice. As the Renaissance went into full swing, however, interest in piercing began to unite up again.

A new era and a new bag in body piercings

Sailors became unambiguous that piercing one ear would improve their long - plant site, and so the site of a bluejacket with a gold or brass ring became common. Word also exhibit that should a seafarer be washed ashore after a shipwreck, the finder should keep the gold ring in exchange for providing a tailor-made Christian burial. Sailors were both brother and superstitious, so they generally spent a lot for a large gold earring to hedge their bets.

Men became exceptionally more fashion - familiar during the Renaissance and Elizabethan eras, and almost any male member of the nobility would have at least one earring, if not more. Great pearl drops and enormous diamond studs were a great way to endorse your wealth and standing in the commonality. It could also designate royal help if your earring was a provision from a member of the royal family.

women, not wanting to be outshone by the men in all their finery, began to wear plunging necklines, with the Queen of Bavaria introducing the most outrageous, which consisted of not much at all above the waist. In order to adorn themselves, women began piercing their nipples to show off their jewelry.
Soon they began wearing chains and even strands of pearls draped between the two.

Men and women both discovered that these nipple piercings were also delightful playthings in bed, adding sensitivity to the breasts and giving the men both visual and tactile stimulation. Men began receiving pierced positively for pleasure as well. While not entirely mainstream, piercing of the nipples and, occasionally, the genitals, continued to hold
interest for members of the upper crust of sort in Europe on and off for the next few hundred years.

The next resurgence of interest was, surprisingly, during the Victorian age, which is usually seen as very repressed. Prince Albert, future husband of Queen Victoria, is said to have gotten the penis piercing that is named after him in order wear the greedy - true trousers so popular at the time. The ring could then be solicitous to a hook on the inside of one pant leg, tucked safely now between the legs for a neat,
flush look. Although we have no record of Victoria's ball game to the piercing itself, there is ample evidence she was wildly in love with her husband and almost never rejected his scrap after their marriage!

Soon, Victorian men were getting Prince Albert's, frenums and a variety of other piercings purely for the pleasurable sexual effects, and women were participation the corresponding. By the 1890's, it was midpoint expected that a woman would have her nipples pierced. In fact, some doctors at the future suggested it worthier conditions for breastfeeding, although not all agreed. It was an beautiful double frequent - - plenty of
people were doing it, but no one was public-speaking about it.

Modern - day body piercings

In the last hundred years or so, body piercings in the Western world have mostly been hardly any to the ears, a standard hold - over from the reality that both men and women wore earrings during Elizabethan times.

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The Puritan movement did away with men wearing earrings, however, and it didn't really repossess popularity until recently.

Nose rings found new note when young humans ( they were called hippies then ) from the U. S. began traveling in India extensively looking for enlightenment in the 1960's. They noticed the nostril rings that most women had been wearing there since the sixteenth century. In India, this was a design of traditional, accepted adornment and was often linked to an
earring by a chain. For rebellious teens from America, it was a great mode of rebellion.

After bringing nose piercings back to the U. S., the interest in body piercings of all kinds quickly caught on during the 1980's and 1990's. Celebrities, sports stars and singers all began sporting a variety of piercings. Soon, high-reaching develop students and even stay - at - home moms
were luminous new body piercings. And the rest, as they express, is history!

This article on the " History of Body Piercings " reprinted with permission. Copyright 2004 Evaluseek publishing.

About the Author: Lori Wilkerson is a full - time freelance writer who loves her work whereas it gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right directly, she knows a little bit about midpoint everything, and a lot about body jewelry, belly button rings and tongue rings. She has two dogs who are bad and one teenager who is not.