Archive for Body piercing
The History of Body Piercings in Ears
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When it comes to the history of body piercings, you would have to go back a long way to find when body piercing first began. Many forms of body piercing go back to almost pre-historic times, with earrings that are designed to be worn in piercings showing up as grave goods as far back as 5000 years ago. But each body part has its own history of body piercing and varies according to type and geography.
The History of Body Piercings- Early History for Ear Piercing
Ear piercings are the type of body piercing that goes back the farthest, and are also the most widespread with examples of ear piercing on every continent and almost every culture. One of the earliest known cultures is Mesopotamia, which had ear piercing to denote slavery or indentured servant status. Egyptian mummies have pierced ears and even the 5300 year-old mysterious Ice Man found in the mountain glaciers of Austria had pierced ears. They have been found in graves as widespread as Siberia, the Pacific Northwestern Tribes of the Americas and even in South America. Earrings are mentioned in the Bible, are part of Hindu culture in relationship to the goddess Laskshimi in the Vedas and were an important part of the potlatch culture for the Tlingit tribes until very recently.
The History of Body Piercings – Europe and Ear Piercing
Although earrings fell out of fashion in Europe from around the 4th to 16th century, they returned when hair began to be worn in a way that showed the ear again around the 1500s.The rise of nation states and emergence from the Dark Ages brought jewelry in all forms back into fashion, including earrings. Soon they became a status symbol for wealth but as the Middle Ages progressed into more elaborate fashions pierced ears and the earrings that went with them faded from view again. From the 1500 on men actually wore pierced earrings more than women, and in fact sailors would have their ears pierced in the belief it would improve their hearing.
In the early 1800s the rise of jewelry designers made earrings and pierced ears popular and a statement of support for the arts amongst the wealthy. But when times changed and an ostentatious show of wealth became unpopular and even considered vulgar, earrings again went out of fashion as ears were covered and hats became a more fashionable and demure accessory.
The History of Body Piercings – Modern Fashion and Ear Piercing
As the 20th century dawned clip on earrings were developed and so ear piercing stayed out of favor and was generally only seen on sailors or disreputable people. The sixties changed much of that, bringing pierced earrings back into fashion. We then saw an evolving of the art of ear piercing as the gay community adopted it for men. Soon after, the punk movement enlarged on it with multiple piercings that quickly after this became simply a new part of the fashion scene. Today it is not unusual to see multiple ear piercings on a conservatively dressed woman. Where ear piercings can go from here will be interesting to see.
History of Body Piercing
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Just like tattoos, the act of piercing one’s body for esthetic or sexual purposes has a long and ancient history among the civilizations of the world. There is no definite evidence that tells us when this practice began among us humans. But there is a lot of evidence that suggests that this practice might just be as old as civilization itself! One of the oldest mummies ever discovered – 5300 year old Otzi the Iceman – was found with an ear piercing that was about 7 – 11 mm in diameter.
Although it remains unclear where and how it all first started, the practice was first recorded some 4000 years ago, in the Middle East. In the book of Genesis in the Bible, Abraham is said to have presented his daughter-in-law Rebekah with a “golden earring.” The Hebrew word used was Shanf, which can also be translated as ‘nose-ring.’ Either way, this practice of piercing body parts remained among the several tribes of the Middle East and Africa.
Ear-lobe piercing was probably man’s first venture into piercings. Many cultures around the world practice this tradition even today. Some primitive cultures believed that demons could enter the human body through one’s ears and having them pierced with metal objects would prevent this. Some other cultures, it is a ritual that is performed at puberty. While some others pierced their ears in order to show off their wealth. Only in our contemporary western civilization ear-rings are considered feminine quality.
The ancient Vedas (ancient Hindu texts which are around 3500 years old) of the Indian sub-continent also make references to goddess Lakshmi’s nose piercings. However, most believe that the modern day practice of body piercing was brought to India by the 16th century Mogul emperor’s of the Middle East. 
Tongue piercings were practiced among the ancient Mayans and the Aztecs of Central America. They pierced their tongue in order to draw blood that would enable them to communicate with their gods. Septum piercing is another common practice among the primitive cultures of our world. In fact, septum piercings are more commonly seen than even nose piercings. Some stretch these piercings and insert large pieces of jewellery such as feathers, pig’s tusks, and pieces of bone or wood.
Other types of body piercings such as nipple and genital piercings were also found in several ancient cultures. Some did it to enhance their sexual experience, like those of the Gupta Empire of today’s India, while some other cultures did it for just the opposite reason – to diminish their sexual activity. Navel piercings on the other hand, seem to be a very modern innovation. Although some may argue that the ancient Egyptians practiced naval piercing, there is very little proof of that claim.