There have always been places in the world that practiced the art of some body piercing. Piercing the ears and nostril goes back for thousands of years and has generally been the most common form of piercing. In Austria in 1991 a mummified body was found and had pierced ears, it is thought the mummy is over 5000 years old.

In other cultures like the Middle East it has been customary for men or women to have pierced ears. Later, sailors on the European and North American Continents adopted this fashion as well. In the Elizabethan age there were many famous men like Shakespeare and Frances Drake that had a pierced ear.

Nose rings can be dated back as far as in Genesis, the first book of the Holy Bible. It was later in the 16th century that the practice of nose piercing came to India. It is mostly worn in the left nostril by women who are married. The nose is still pierced today in some nomadic African tribes and in the Middle East. Nose piercing is done by people all over the world today. Piercing the septum, or the hard cartilage between the nostrils, has been very common among primitive peoples too. It was particularly prevalent among warrior tribes. This is a piercing that has seen a revival among young people today.

Even though a lot of people might think that tongue piercing is a relatively new trend, it certainly is not. It was done by the Mayas and the Aztecs just to name two. Now it is practiced by many around the world, mostly the younger generation. The same can be said about lip or labret piercing.

It has been practiced by certain tribes in Alaska, Canada, Africa, and in the Pacific Northwest Native Americans. A variety of items were used in the piercing such as bone, wood, and walrus ivory. The Aztec and Maya culture used gold with gems in their lips and was only allowed to be done in certain males of the tribes.

The naval piercing has actually been invented during our time as far as we know. Some of the supermodels and musicians in the rock culture were the first to be seen wearing naval rings in the early 1990's. It did not take long to catch on. With the naval piercing, it seems that a lot of middle aged women have joined the ranks of the young in this one any way.

Of coarse there are a few other body piercing that are of a little more personal nature and if you just use your imagination you can probably figure out what some of them are, but you would need to be pretty brave to have them done!