Roman Body Piercing Research Paper

When you see someone walking down the street with his or her ear pierced you probably do no think much about it, but when you see a man or woman walking down the street with their tongue pierced you probably take a second glance or make a slap judgment about them before even taking the time to think about why he or she got a body part pierced. Body piercing has become more mainstream in the past ten to fifteen years, but can still not get past the stigma attached to getting a body part pierced. But what most people do not realize is that piercing of body parts other than ears date back as far as Biblical times and have symbolic meaning rather than just shock value. The art of body modification has been in practice since as early as the
Egyptians and mummies. The oldest remains of a mummy, which was dated as 5,000 years old was said to have his ears pierced with large plugs, otherwise known as gauges. (Noya, 2005) The Egyptians had such a fondness for themselves that they even restricted certain parts of the body only to be pierced if they were royalty. It was said that only a pharaoh was allowed to have his navel pierced, all others could face serious prosecution such as death if they tried to have their navel pierced. The art of body modification to the Egyptians was not merely to show off their beauty, but to show their social status and wealth. Another interesting place that you will find body piercing is ironically in the Bible. Genesis 24:22 talks about a servant of Abraham, who gives his future wife a nose ring as a present. (Roberts, 2004) Nose rings, which originated in India, are supposed to be worn in the left nostril to make child birth easier. (Noya, 2005) In Indian culture it is quite common to see the nose pierced on both sides and connected by a chain to both ear lobes. While body piercing is not well accepted in western culture, it has been a staple in many tribes and eastern culture for a very long time. The tongue piercing has been used more in tribal culture rather than mainstream society. The Aztecs and the Mayans used to think that if they pierced their tongues that they would be able to communicate with the gods on a much higher level – so to them the tongue piercing was an instrument rather than a fashion accessory. The tribal culture also fashioned the ear lobe stretching as well as the lip piercing. Women were seen more attractive the more piercing that they acquired. The same cannot be said for the women of the 21st century, where piercing come along with a stigma of being dirty or not well kept. The Romans seemed to be the ones who took piercing to the extreme, but for them it came as a practical reason.
The Roman's were a very practical people. Anything they said or did served a purpose. (Roberts, 2004) When they would have a body part pierced it meant something. Roman centurions got their nipples pierced because it gave the men strength and virility. It was a bonding ritual with the members of the army. Julius Caesar symbolized his strength and manhood by having his nipples pierced. (Roberts, 2004) Another piercing that the Roman's used was that of the genitals. The Roman gladiators had the head of their penises pierced. These men were slaves and this piercing served dual purposes. This piercing was used as a tool to pin back the man's genitals during a gladiator battle, and was also used as a way to prevent the slaves from having sex without the owner's consent. (Sanders, 2005) Though this may sound very barbaric, the Roman's pitted their gladiators against beasts to fight for their lives, it is doubtful that they were upset about having their genitals
pierced. In Africa, the stretching of the ear lobes and lips were a symbol of beauty. In their culture, size really did matter. "Lip plugs on men denoted status, elders are valued for their wisdom and have bigger plugs or plates inserted every year." (Sanders, 2005) So if status and beauty were not as valued, wisdom seemed to be the next key factor into getting pierced. As the Dark Ages moved in, the art of body modification died down, and was viewed by the church as sinful.
The church spent most of its free time repressing the freedom of expression to its followers, which intern dulled down the exposure of piercings. The Dark Ages also brought poverty and most of the society could not afford to get a piercing to show off beauty or their social status. Piercing was then used as a punishment rather than a fashion or status statement. Those who were pierced were marked and society took a negative view upon them. This might also have a lot to do with the plague which was affecting most of citizens as well causing birth defects and body deformities. This is probably why most of the Western culture views piercing as a negative attribute rather than a symbol of strength or virility. (Sanders,
2005) As the world aged and matured so did society and slowly piercing veered their ugly studs again. Ear piercing again became a way for women to show off their diamonds and wealth, and it slowly became more acceptable for men to get their ears pierced. Tattooing would slowly make its way into modern culture, and while there is such a craze for tattooing it is still not acceptable with the business world and now can be linked with the negative stigma associated with body piercing. Today, at most tattoo parlors you can usually find a body piercer. The two forms of art have come together instead of working against each other and have made the world of body art more profitable and desirable. So the next time you are walking down the street and you get the sudden urge to judge someone who has their nose pierced or their tongue pierced, think about the origin that the piercing comes from. What may not be acceptable to you may be someone else's culture or heritage and symbolize something important to them.

References
Noya (2005, May 25). History Of Body Piercing. Retrieved April 8, 2007, from http://bodyjewelleryshop.com/body_piercing_information/history_of_body_piercing.com

Roberts, L. P. (2004, September 12). The History of Body Piercings-Ancient and Fascinating Around the World. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lucy_P._Roberts

Sanders, J. (2005). A brief history of body piercing in the U.K. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://www.tribalbodyart.co.uk/Piercing/Body%20piercing%20history.htm