A skull suggests humans have been getting piercings for 12,000 years

Fossil teeth

Concave marks on the teeth of OH1’s lower jaw were made by facial piercings

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

A human that lived over 12,000 years ago in east Africa probably had facial piercings, making this the oldest known example of a facial piercing in Africa, and the second oldest in the world. The finding suggests humans have been wearing facial piercings in Africa since deep in prehistory.

“We’re potentially opening a window into the life of this individual,” says John Willman at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Piercings and other body modifications “are often associated with social …

source: newscientist.com