History of Piercing

Piercing is one of the oldest and most interesting forms of self-adornment. Though it wasn’t really socially accepted in the past, it is now widely accepted in today’s society. Before, people connote piercing with wrong impressions. Body piercing has been around the world since the early civilization. History tells us that it has been practiced by many cultures since then.


Piercing was believed to be an essential part of ancient culture’s physical and spiritual identity. Dated back on 9th century BC, a stone relief from Nimrud was the earliest evidence of body piercing. A 5,000 years old mummified body had an ear pierced in 7-11mm in diameter. This mummy is said to be the oldest recorded piercing.

When you’ll ask this generation, “why do you have to have your body pierced?” To express my individuality, this is the reason you will most likely hear from them. But piercing has their cultural meanings. In India for instance, they usually wear piercing in the left nostril or in some place. Sometimes both nostrils are joined to the ear by a chain.
The left nostril is more common to be pierced because it is associated to Ayuvedra, an Indian form of alternative medicine. They believe that piercing will make child birth easier and would lessen the period of labor.

To facilitate their communication with gods, the Mayan nobleman does ritual tongue piercing and bloodletting while a gold earring worn in the left ear signifies a government official in Tibet. New Guinea warriors wore tusks through the septum for a vicious appearance.

There are many cultural reasons behind body piercing. They may indicate affiliation to a clan or tribe. They may also indicate a social status or ranking in the society or level of success. A leader of a tribe or his family can be identified through body piercing in some culture. Warriors wear piercing to appear threatening. It can also be worn to enhance your sexual stimulation or to become attractive. It may also indicate a formal procedure of passage or a sign of authority. Still, others have piercings with the belief that it will ward off evil and illness.