History of Body Piercing

Series Summary

Often identified with counter-culture, body piercing is a practice that helps modern day humans reconnect with the heritage of past traditions while creating a unique avenue for symbolic self-expression. The use of pain as a transcendental experience, jewelry being the proof of that process, is not a new thing under the sun. Men and women have since ancient times used piercing in religious practices, to signify ownership or devotion, or to add a little zing to their sex life.

Modern piercing is done mainly two ways: either with a piercing gun or a hand-held needle. There is some debate as to the safety of the gun method; there is no way that the instrument can be properly sterilized without destroying it. Nonetheless, a piercing is created in the earlobe, the cartilage, the septum—or many, many other places—by punching a hole in the skin and inserting a piece of jewelry.

In these free body piercing videos, learn what to expect when you go to get pierced. Aside from the type of piercing and the location, safety and hygiene are of the utmost importance. Since the piercing artist will be performing a minor type of surgery, it is paramount that regulations regarding health and sanitation practices are strictly observed. Get tips on what to look for when you get pierced, learn about the piercing procedure, and watch a few people get pierced themselves.

Video Transcript

" Hi! My name is Rick Wyckoff. You can check out our website at avatartat2.com. I’m here on behalf of expertvillage.com, talking about history of piercing. Well piercing goes back as far as human memory. Every culture on the planet has had some sort of piercing tradition or another. In modern times, piercing in America has definitely gained interest, or people have take interest in it. Aboriginal cultures that still exist all over the planet have piercing traditions that date back thousands of years. Some of the different types of jewelry that were used on just about every continent are made out of stone. This particular agate plug was probably worn in somebody’s ear. In comes from Indonesia or pardon me this one comes from Cambodia. This was found near the lost city Angkor Wat. This is also your jewelry made out of water buffalo horn, these are from Indonesia as a sort of a traditional almost the style of design work has become associated with Borneo in particular. This is also worn in the ear. This part right here is fed through the opening of the ear and it hangs like this in you ear lobe. In ancient times before they possessed piercing needles, they probably did the initial piercing with something like this. Perhaps a crocodile tooth or a horse tusk. "