The Earring in History

Since time began men and women have sought to differentiate themselves from other members of their society. At the same time, members of both genders have sought to increase their desirability with the opposite sex through activities, which modern social science scientists and anthropologists have described as “Body modification”. These types of activities are a worldwide phenomenon. Every culture from the Indians of North and South America to the Mongolian hordes that terrorized Asia and Western Europe throughout the fourteenth century has engaged in some type body modification. Some of the most bizarre and memorable examples of body modification found in world history are the Chinese practices of foot binding, which was intended to make women’s feet small a miniscule, to the bizarre practice of infantile head- boarding among the Caddo Indians, which was intended to enlarge and elongate an infant's skull for the purposes of beautification. Thankfully, these very painful practices have fallen out of favor in modern times. However, body modification is still practiced by modern people. Other activities which can be classified as body modification include tattooing, piercings, the use of lip discs, and neck rings, which are commonplace among some African tribes.

Sterling Silver bracelets and sterling earrings are common accessories among both American women and men. While the majority of people wear these types of jewelry because of their perceived beautifying effects, some people wear sterling silver bracelets and sterling silver earrings to demonstrate their membership in many of America's underground cultural groups. These groups include the Goths, or the Gothic group, the Emo group, members of the Punk-Rock community, as well as some members of the metro sexual and homosexual cultural groups. This is one of the oldest uses of jewelry in world history. For example, during the reign of Jewish kings, which some historians classify as the biblical period, both slaves and laborers were required by law to wear silver earrings, or if their master was particularly generous, a single gold earring was worn as a mark of their enslavement. Roman and Greek cities such as Sparta also employed a similar tradition. Silver bracelets as well as other types of jewelry were reserved for highly ranked political, spiritual, or military leaders within each of these societies.

In closing, what anthropologists call “body modification” has permeated human culture, being practiced on all six of the Earth’s habitable continents. This article has discussed several ancient examples of piercing and other types of body modification as well as modern examples. We have also discussed the symbolism behind by the modification, particularly piercing the ear and nose, which is used to differentiate one group of people from others within the same society.