The history of body piercing is connected to the history of beautification or any kind of adornment, which is to suggest that it goes back much further than can be reasonably accounted for. There are some spectacular moments in recorded history when there were discoveries that helped to trace some of the origins, such as the discovery of navel piercings in ancient Egypt, and these might problematize the search for the origin rather than bring light to it. That’s because these stories do suggest that for all that can be known, there is certainly much, much more to it.
For example, it’s possible to trace the origin of the nose ring to the ancient Maya, or the Aztecs, who definitely had them, and quite likely their use was for adornment. This is particularly likely among the Maya, because of their great love for physical beauty, then as much as now. There are also other mentions of nose piercings among other indigenous groups in the Americas, and the origins could easily go back thousands of years, but it’s difficult to match the evidence of jewelry artifacts with their use since the skin is long gone.
But there is also plenty of evidence that relates the beginnings to India, when the Moghuls brought the tradition there in the 15th century, as a means to help decrease the pain of childbirth. In the Vedic scriptures they are also mentioned, and this places the date at 3,000 years prior. There are also Judeo-Christian biblical references to pierced noses, especially a mention of a nose ring as a gift to Rebekah in the old testament. This is not to mention the multiple origin stories of other piercings, like earlobes, lips, nipples, and genitals, and all of these have equally complex stories from all over the world.
The origin, then, could be in India, or possibly the Americas, or Africa, or any area where the practice of piercing was widespread. The trouble here is that is was widespread everywhere, and still is. There are many reasons for it throughout time, and they can include means of marking people as property, ways of controlling or enhancing sexual pleasure, for sheer aesthetic appeal, and a number of other reasons. The origins are spread far and deep into a common past, revealing a very common tendency among human cultures.
