Unit3-Part2-Reading

Body piercing. Body piercing is a popular trend among young people. They insert rings,

studs, or other jewelry into their piercings. The most popular pierced body parts are the

ears, nostrils, eyebrows, lips, nipples, the belly button, and the tongue.

Piercing is not a new practice. Ancient people pierce their noses, ears, and lips for religious

purposes thousands of years ago. They inserted ornaments into their piercings. In Egypt and Rome,

piercings showed people's positions. In Egypt, only the Pharaoh could have belly button piercings.

In Rome, gladiators had nose and nipple piercings to show their strength. Over the years, many

changes came about in piercing and piercing methods developed. Ear piercing is the oldest form of

body piercing. Ancient tribes believed that evil spirits entered the body through the ear. They

made holes in the ears and put metal rings in them to make the spirits go away. In modern times,

ear piercing was common among women at first, but now men also have pierced ears and wear earrings.

In ancient Rome, earrings were more common among men than women. Also, in the 1500s, artists and

famous men wore gold rings in their ears. Nose piercing began in the Middle East 4 ,000 years ago.

Piercing the left nostril was a kind of acupuncture for ill people. African tribes also pierced their

noses. The size of their nose rings showed the wealth of the family. Tongue and lip piercings are

now very popular among rock singers and film stars. Tongue piercing began with the Aztecs. They

and the lip piercing began in Africa for religious purposes too.