Archaeologists discover prehistoric people had the same piercings as us
The IndependentSign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Ornaments found around the mouths and ears of skeletons at an 11,000-year-old burial site prove that humans have been piercing their bodies since prehistoric times and thinking about self-image, archaeologists said. “None of them have ever been found on the bodies in their original locations,” said Emma Louise Baysal, a professor of archaeology at Ankara University, who co-authored an article on the ornaments. But at the Boncuklu Tarla site, “we have them all on the skeletons very close to the ear holes, to the lips,” she said, allowing experts to conclude for the first time they would definitely be used as piercings. open image in gallery Beads from Boncuklu Tarla dig The site was established around 11,000 years ago by a group of hunter-gatherers, who gradually settled.
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