Archaeologists have discovered evidence of body piercings in skeletons from 11,000 years ago.
Scientists have found evidence of ancient body piercings
A team from Ankara University have unearthed over 100 ornaments in the graves of individuals at the Boncuklu Tarla site in Turkey in what is thought to be the earliest evidence of body perforation.
The ornaments were found next to the ears and chins, strongly suggesting that they were worn in piercings.
However, analysis has shown that only adults wore the piercings - implying that the ancient tradition could have been a coming-of-age ritual.
Dr. Emma Baysal, co-author of the research, said: "It shows that traditions that are still very much part of our lives today were already developed at the important transitional time when people first started to settle in permanent villages in western Asia more than 10,000 years ago."
She added: "They had very complex ornamentation practices involving beads, bracelets and pendants, including a very highly developed symbolic world which was all expressed through the medium of the human body."