The navel piercing originated in ancient Egypt.  Kings, queens, and pharaohs would pierce their navels as a symbol of their station in life, separating them from the "common" folk.  This piercing allowed people to easily identify royalty while bowing.  Any "common" people who dared to pierce their navels were punished by death.

                  14 Gauge Curved Barbell Navel Piercing

Aztec and Mayan priests would pierce their tongues to communicate with their gods.  Today it is considered a sexual piercing, allowing for better oral stimulation.  Vibrating tongue barbells are available now, to further enhance this piercing!!

From the Latin word Labrum, or lip, the labret was a traditional piercing among the Northwest Indians of North America, and among the Tlingit of Southeast Alaska.  This piercing was a sign of status, and easily recognized on the skeletons of these people by the indelible tooth wear that the jewellery caused.  This piercing also has a significant history among the Suya tribe of South America, where the boys of the tribe would have their lip plugs painted red for confidence in speech, war, and ideas.  In Southeastern Sudan in Africa, the women of the Kichepo and Surma wear lip discs that can be stretched to over ten inches in diameter.  In Meso-America, the labret was a sign of nobility and masculinity, and has evidence of dating back to 1800 B.C.

                   16 Gauge Labret Piercing                                                                                         14 Gauge Vertical Labret

First performed in the Middle East about 4,000 years ago, the nostril is most commonly associated with India, where it is worn on the left side.  The belief is that this piercing placed on the left side makes childbirth easier.  This piercing also has a history among the Tlingit of Southeast Alaska and Ancient Mexico, where this piercing was considered a mark of distinction and prestige.

                18 Gauge Nostril Piercing with Ring                                               18 Gauge Nostril Piercing with Jewelled Nose Screw

Everyone has seen the cartoon depiction of the caveman with the bone through the nose, but there is no archeological evidence to support this. 

                      10 Gauge Septum Ring

I have been unable to find any historical reference for the eyebrow piercing, which would lead me to believe that it is a relatively new piercing to the history of body piercing.  If anyone out there knows something more, please let me know!!

        14 Gauge and 16 Gauge Eyebrow piercings                                          14 Gauge Piercing with Curved Barbell

Ears are one of the most diversely piercable parts of the body.  Historically, children of the Suya tribe of South America would have their ears pierced at adolescence to help them "listen" and act like adults.  Their plugs were painted white for passivity and good listening.  Sailors and pirates would travel to various parts of the world and come back with pierced ears.  Images of Buddha include his stretched ear lobes.  African tribes would pierce their ears with a green coconut, partially breaking the coconut and clamping it onto the ear.  After several hours (or days) it would work its way through the ear.  A wooden plug was then inserted.  To stretch the ear lobes up, they would wrap banana leaves around the plug in a method called a subang.  This is still the best way to stretch any piercing, but I recommend using plumbers tape or electrical tape instead of banana leaves.  Some of the more technically difficult ear piercings that are more and more common today were created by Eric Dakota of Anubis Warpus in San Francisco and include the Daith and Rook.

     Stretched Lobe with second lobe and Conch piercing               0 Gauge dermal punch with                        14 Gauge Project with

                                                                                                                                                               stretched lobe                                                 16 Gauge Tragus

The Nipple

Male nipple piercings have been rumoured to have started in Ancient Rome.  The myth of the Roman Centurion having pierced nipples to attach their capes to has absolutely no historical backing.  It was a myth started by Doug Malloy, one of the three main people behind modern body piercing (along with Jim Ward and Fakir Musafar), based on a photo of a statue.  In the photo, the statue was wearing a breastplate with rings for attaching a cape, not piercings to hold a cape!!  The Karankawa Indians of Texas did pierce their nipples.  There are also rumours of sailors getting nipple piercings when crossing an important latitude or longitude (i.e. Tropic of Cancer, Equator, etc.).  Female nipple piercings were rumoured to have been around in the Court of Queen Isabella of Bavaria in the late 1300.  There is also evidence of female nipple piercings in London in the 1890's.  Cleopatra of Egypt was rumoured to have had an inverted nipple which was pierced.  Allegedly, pebbles were placed into the piercing to return her nipple to it's original "perkiness".  Ethel Granger (who appeared in the first Guinness Book Of World Records for having the smallest waist through her extreme corseting) had both nipples pierced in the late 1920's.

             14G  Angled Nipple Piercing with Barbell        

Erotic Piercings

Erotic, below the belt piercings have been around for thousands of years.  The Kama Sutra (which was first published around 700 AD) mentions attaching  various items to the Frenum piercing, as well as making mention of the Ampallang and Apadravya piercings.  The Frenum was used in ancient Middle Eastern culture to prevent sodomy.  The Ampallang has it's origins in the Phillipines, where men would have this piercings with barbs on the ends.  During intercourse, the man would not be able to pull out until he was soft.  The Guiche piercing is rumoured to be a Samoan puberty rite of passage, but there is little historical evidence to back this up.  The Hafada piercings has it's origins in Arabia, then spread into the Middle East and Africa.  It was a mark of becoming a man, and was typically done on the left side of the scrotum.  The Prince Albert piercing is rumoured to be named after Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert of Saxe Colburg-Gotha.  It is rumoured that he had this piercing to tie his penis to his leg, to avoid a bulge in the very tight pants that were the style at the time. Gladiators of ancient Rome would have their penises pierced to tie them down to their leg to avoid the sharp pointy objects that were frequently swung in their general direction.  Women of the South Pacific would pierce and stretch their labia to attract a husband.  African women would pierce their labias to make them more valuable as a wife.

I have found no historical relevance for the nose bridge piercing, also known as an earl.  If anyone knows of any history to this piercing, let me know!!

                              14 Gauge "Earl" Piercing

The Third Eye

This relatively obscure piercing is historically based in Savite Hindu ritual.  The third eye was pierced during piercing rituals to open the third eye for enlightenment and power.  Frequently performed during the Thaipusam festival in honour of Lord Muragan, Son of Shiva and Brother of Ganesha.  This is typically a temporary piercing, and should be approached as such when considering getting this done.

                  16 Gauge Third Eye Piercing

Check back for more about body piercing!!