Body piercing is nowhere near a new thing. It’s been around for over 5000 years, just like tattoos and other body modifications. The oldest recorded piercing is 5,300 years old. Ötzi the Iceman was found in an Austrian Glacier and had an impressive set of stretched ears, measuring 7-11mm. Making him the oldest mummified body that was found with piercings. Unrelated but he also had 61 tattoos in total.
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Otzi the Iceman
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Piercings evolved in many different ways over the years, the more we learned about bacteria and other things that were involved in the process it became safer and more widespread with the introduction of fashion jewellery.
Back in ancient civilizations and primal tribes, piercings had meanings. They were done to show off the individual's strength, beauty, age, religion, alignment or even a bond with another person. These days it’s more about decorating your body for some fun jewellery. Not to show off that you are a warrior. But here’s some of the origins of some of our favourite piercings and what they used to be.
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The classic ear lobe was originally used for protection against bad spirits and energies. Primitive tribes believed that spirits would enter the body through the ear, so they pierced their lobes and decorated them with metal. It was believed that the metal would be able to repel the bad spirits so they wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked. Lobes were also pierced because sailors believed they improved their eyesight and a gold earring could pay for a Christian funeral if the sailor would wash up on shore. Ancient Egyptians often stretched their ears as well, decorating them with lavish jewellery to show off their wealth.
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The Egyptians loved their piercing so much that many of them were actually restricted to have. Only the Pharaoh was allowed to have his navel pierced and if you were caught with one, you were executed.
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Egyptian Styles of Jewellery:
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Nose piercings have been found in many different countries in ancient times. In the Middle East they were popular around when the bible was being written, it is believed that Issac actually gave his wife a nose ring as a gift, meaning they date back around 4000 years. Not as old as a lobe piercing but still pretty impressive. It was believed in 16th century India that a nose piercing on the left side would help with period and childbirth pains. Septums have been around for almost as long as well, the oldest being 3,500 years old. Many people saw this piercing as a symbol of being closer to the gods, it was a very spiritual piercing. The ancient Greeks believed it would bring you good fortune in relationships as it was worn by followers of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love.
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Khond woman with ear, septum and nostril piercings
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In Ancient Rome they all had practical piercing that served purposes. Soldiers of the Roman military had their nipples pierced to show off their status. It was a way to draw them together in a symbol of comradeship. It signified their strength and virility. Julius Caesar had his pierced to signify his unity with the men he commanded. In the 1890’s a piece of nipple jewellery became popular in Paris. It was called a ‘bosom ring’ , two rings that were connected by a chain and gave the nipples the appearance of always being erect. It was quite pricey back then and was really only for the richer class.
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The “Garments of the Grand Neckline” dress
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Tongue piercings were quite popular with cultures such as the Aztecs, Mayans and a few other Native American tribes. The practice was used as blood rituals so they could become closer to their gods. It was also used as a scare tactic, the jewellery made them appear fiercer and would scare off others that threatened the peace or if the warriors wished to start their own wars.
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Lip labrets were seen as beauty enhancers. Aztecs and Mayans would use gold and jade to carve out their religious figures for the jewellery to enhance their sexuality. Which probably wasn’t the best idea as beautiful people were often used as sacrifices to the gods in the Aztec empire. In central and south Africa, women would stretch their lips to be able to hold large wooden plates. The stretched out look was considered more beautiful and were inserted to emphasise the lips.
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Aztec Lip Stretching
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Modern day piercings are very different. The beauty of body art was frowned upon in the early 20th century, only ear piercings remained. Kept to the simplicity of the lobes and only a single set. Your first piercing was your last piercing. But in the 1970’s piercing was brought back to life by a man known as Jim Ward. He is considered the founding father of modern piercing and was a very kinky queer man. Through the 70s, 80s and 90s, piercing studios were often places where queer people would go to have their identities validated. This is where trends such as the ‘gay earring’ and ‘lesbian side nose piercing’ came from. However, both of these are myths, it’s not clear where they originated from but it wasn’t helped by gay icons such as George Michael and Freddie Mercury having their ears pierced.
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Gossip was the main reason this was ever a thing. It travelled fast back then and it is still heavily rooted in today’s society. Don’t worry about it, no matter what side you get pierced on it doesn’t change who you are. It’s all just speculation and rumours older than you are. Only you can decide who you are, not what side your ear is pierced on, pick which side suits you the best.
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In the 90s and early 2000s, it was all about experimentation. Learning how to pierce safely, improving the existing technology and finding out what piercings were safe to perform and learning about anatomy. Such as navel piercings, they have a high rate of rejection and migration so if your body is slightly off, your piercer might have to get creative or unfortunately say no. The piercing gun was a fan favourite and more often than not it belonged to your friend and you did it at a party with lots of alcohol involved. From all of the experimentation of the time, piercers started to understand what they could and couldn’t do. And with what they could, how to do it safely without causing too much stress or harm to the body. For example, how it’s only best to pierce with the gun on first and second lobes, anything else risking far too much harm to the body.
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90's Piercing Fashion
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If you ever go anywhere that wants to pierce your nose with a gun, leave. Needles are the only options for piercing like that and even for lobes it’s better to just get the needle. Not only is this more hygienic but it also provides less damage to the area.
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Moving onto the 2010s, piercing was coming back full circle. Still seen as an act of rebellion by some members of the older generations but a lot of people jumped on board with the idea. With help from celebrities and pretty jewellery options, piercings started to gain popularity and became statement pieces. Piercing has always been a form of self expression but now wasn’t just for the rebellious youth or the queer community wishes for something to call their own. It came full circle almost, becoming a way to show off a person’s personality and who they were as a person. Ear, nose and navel piercings were by far the most popular in this time, more outrageous piercings were still only had by alternative people. It was a right of passage for a scene kid to have their lip pierced in the 2000s and it stayed that way for a while.
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Piercing are now seen as confidence boosters. An easy way to learn to love your body again if people have put you down. Decorating one’s self is also seen as a celebration or therapeutic. Partner breaks up with you? Piercing time. Promotion? Piercing time. Surprisingly the pandemic helped piercing become a little bit more mainstream, home jobs were very popular. Which is not recommended but there wasn’t really a way of stopping everyone who pierced themselves then posted their handiwork to tiktok. Now everyone has a nice stack of earrings, at least one nose piercing and their nipples done. It’s become something so widely accepted no one really blinks an eye anymore.
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Ear Cartilage Piercing Variations
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It’s definitely come a long way but it is always important to remember where body piercing came from. Piercing wouldn’t be what it is today if it wasn’t for the POC, queer and punk communities. The body art was made to be inclusive and show off an individual's personality, a view into who they are and what they stand for. It’s something for everyone, that’s why it was popularised in the 20th century, for something that creates an inclusive space and allows everyone and anyone to join in on the fun.
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So when you get your next piercing remember where it all comes from. Tell someone about the history and surprise them with how it all came to be.
- by Eliza Catford
