Body Piercing History

Body piercing isn’t something that developed this century. In fact, body piercing has been traditional rituals for many ancient civilizations. In today’s society, body piercing of all types has been spreading like wildfire, especially among younger generations.

Mummies from Egypt were among the first discoveries of ancient piercing. In terms of ear piercing, it is estimated that it began beyond 5000 years ago. You may have seen similar piercings with the large plugs inserted in the holes. Interestingly enough, there were only certain types of piercings allowed back then. Anyone who was caught with forbidden piercings was executed for doing so. In today’s society, piercings of all types have emerged with only social problems as the result.

The bible also tells tales in some places that piercings were relevant with the times and symbolic of status and attractiveness. But even without the bible we can see the presence of them in other areas.

The Romans pierced their body for more practical purposes such as strength and vitality. You will hear many stories of Romans piercing their nipples for these reasons. Even the great Julius Caesar has his nipples pierced. Some gladiators had their manhood pierced to prevent injuries during battles. They would be able to tie their member back to their bodies easier that way. This is something that considered being extreme piercing even by today’s standards.

The Aztecs, Mayans, and American Indians used tongue piercing as a religious ritual. They believed this was a step in bringing them closer to god. Having their septum, the inner part of the nose, pierced was thought to scare enemies. They had other facial piercings for attractiveness as well. Most of the piercings were done by bone, feather, or tusks. Can you imagine how painful it must have been? It is still done in some countries to this very day. You may have seen pictures from Central and South America who have lips stretched extremely large. This is also to present beauty and attractiveness.

During the Dark ages, the churches did not allow piercing at all. However, once the renaissance started, piercing also made its way back. Many sailors ended up piercing their ears, and to this day sailors and pirates are usually associated with ear piercings. Gold was usually worn since it was a valuable resource. But they may not have known about all the benefits of wearing gold that we know today.

Royal women were also known to have nipples pierced and even their genitals were often pierced. It was done for reasons such as aesthetics and pleasure.

The Victorian age brought piercing in with full force. Prince Albert is named after a penis piercing of his father. And it is still known as this today. Piercings slowly died off but came back in the ‘60’s when hippies were at their peak. The hippies commonly wore nose piercings. As time moved forward, more and more people ended up getting piercings.

Now that you know about the types of piercings of the past, what type will you get next?