The History of Body Piercing – Interesting Facts
Piercing is an ancient form of body modification. Almost all cultures have practiced it at some time and today piercing is widespread in Western Europe and America and quite popular in other countries.
Ancient Egypt is recorded as the first place where a pierced mummified body was found. The piercing in his ear is said to have been done over 5,000 years ago. There were large gauge plugs in the ears of this body. Certain types of body piercings in ancient Egypt were restricted and even the royal family followed those rules. The interesting fact about navel piercing is that only Pharaoh had the right to get his navel pierced. And any man who got or went to get his navel pierced would be executed. Upper class Egyptians had the right to wear earrings, thus showing their wealth.
Even in the Bible there are some words about piercing. In Biblical times, piercing was a sign of attractiveness and status.
The Romans pierced their bodies not for beauty but for a practical purpose. They had nipple piercings to indicate their virility and strength. Men’s pierced navel symbolized patient dedication to the Roman Empire and courage and even Julius Caesar had pierced nipples. Gladiators had genital piercings through the head of the penis to prevent serious injury in combat. They tied the organ to the testicles with a leather strap that was held in place by the ring on the penis.
In ancient Mayan, Aztec and American Indian tribes, tongue piercing was part of their religious rituals. They believed that the bloodletting ritual of tongue piercing brought them closer to their gods. Septum piercing in the warrior Mayan and Aztec tribes was done to scare off enemies. They also wore gold or jade labrets on their lips to show their attractiveness and enhance sexuality. In the Solomon Islands and New Guinea, septum piercing was also widespread. They used bone, feather, and fangs for that purpose. So did women in Central and South America. The holes in her lips were stretched to incredible sizes and this was believed to be very attractive.
During the Middle Ages, the medieval church restricted piercing and this type of body modification became extinct. But during the Renaissance the piercing returned. It was widespread among sailors to pierce one of the ears. Firstly, it depicted their long-distance adventures, and secondly, the gold earring was the price for the proper Christian burial of a sailor who died in the shipwreck and was found on the shore. Noble men during the Elizabethan era had at least one pierced ear. Pierced nipples with shiny rings and chains linking both nipples were common among royal women. The upper layer of society in Europe at that time and later pierced their nipples and genitalia for both aesthetic reasons and luscious pleasure.
Victorian era piercing was the time when piercing started to catch on with new forces. The Prince Albert piercing is named after Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, who pierced his penis to wear the skinny trousers that were very popular at the time. Later, other types of genital piercings became popular with both men and women. By the end of the 19th century, almost all women had their nipples pierced. During the first half of the 20th century, ear piercings and other piercings all but disappeared, and piercings regained popularity in the 1960s, when hippies began wearing nose rings. Later, interest in body piercing grew and celebrities, singers and sports stars began to make and display their piercings. And today every imaginable type of piercing is available.