History Of Body Piercing

There are many different cultures in the world that have a custom of body piercing and have carried out these customs for centuries. A peek at the history book may offer you leads that proved that the Greeks, Egyptians, Romans did the body piercing. There are two reasons for doing so, it may be to show someone’s importance or the person has a belief that it will protect him/her from evil. This was the main reason the ancient cultures did their body piercing.

The culture of body piercing was nearly extinct from the 1920s to 1960s. But it started to gain popularity among the young generation in America and from then on it was picked up by the Hippies. Since then it has become a symbol of youth. It is the mainstream of today’s western culture.

The Egyptian Culture:

The oldest piercing tradition was recorded in the Egyptian culture. The oldest known mummified remains of human were pierced over 5000 years ago. The mummified remains had ears pierced with large guage plugs. This may mean that the ear plugs may be the oldest piercing ornaments. The Egyptian loved to adorn themselves and would even restrict some of the piercings to the royal family. In fact the king only had the right to get his navel pierced anybody else who would get belly button pierced would be executed.

The Roman Culture:

The Romans also had their own style of body piercing. They were the most practical people and had a reason to do body piercing. The roman warriors would pierce their nipples to glamorize their strength. It was like recognition of honour to the warriors’ dedication to the Roman Empire. As a symbol, it served the purpose that there was no discrimination in the army and bonding them. Even Julius Caesar pierced his nipples to show the warriors that he is one of them.

The Western Tradition:

The Aztecs, The Maya and the American Red Indians, had a custom of tongue piercing. It was a religious ritual for them. It was like sacrificing their blood which would bring them closer to the God. As the Aztecs and the Maya were warrior tribes, they would practice septum piercing, i.e. having a boar tusk pierced through their nose for frightening their opponents.

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