Researchers reveal that ancient mammoth hunters practiced piercing long before it became a mainstream trend.

Piercing in the modern world is often associated with youth subcultures and frequently attracts disapproving glances. However, the desire to pierce one's body has pursued people for centuries and is prevalent in many cultures and societies. New research suggests that this tradition may have roots that extend deep into the past.

When referring to the distant past, we mean the Ice Age, when mammoths roamed the expanses of Europe. A new study has been published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology.

Researchers in the 1980s and 1990s observed something unusual about the remains of ancient people from the Pavlovian culture, who lived between 29,000 and 31,000 years ago in what is now the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. They noted that some of these individuals exhibited signs of enamel wear on the sides of their teeth, and for a long time, the origin of these damages remained a mystery.

The fact is that such wear does not correspond to what is typically seen on teeth from chewing hard foods; however, at that time, scientists lacked a clear explanation. Now, researchers have utilized more advanced technologies, such as 3D scanning, and subsequently compared the nature of the damage to the teeth of cultures known for using piercings (Aleuts, Inuit, African, and Amazonian peoples).

They now propose that the dental damage may have been caused by the use of labrets. If this is the case, it would represent the earliest evidence of their use.

Interestingly, such damage has not been observed in all representatives of the Pavlovian culture. This leads to the assumption that piercing may have served as a marker of belonging to a specific social group. If so, it suggests a complex hierarchy within their society.

Additionally, some of the remains with wear belong to children around 10 years old, but the wear is only visible on one side of the face. In contrast, the marks on teenagers and adults are symmetrical. It is possible that a second piercing was made to emphasize the transition to adulthood.

Scientists have yet to find the actual labrets; however, there are artifacts that were previously considered beads and pendants. It is possible that researchers will now examine these items more closely.

Currently, the tradition of wearing piercings varies among different peoples—for instance, among Aleuts and Inuit, labrets are worn only by men, while among Amazonian tribes, they are a female attribute. Therefore, to confirm or refute this hypothesis, researchers will need to conduct further studies on the remains and also search for actual labrets among the discovered artifacts.

The Pavlovian culture was part of the Gravettian culture of the Paleolithic era, but they also had their unique characteristics. They primarily hunted large game but also consumed plants. It is known that they had a well-developed artistic expression, which includes findings of Venus figurines, bone flutes, and even animal figures made from fired clay (notably, they were the first to do this). Furthermore, they are considered the first in Europe to utilize complex burial traditions, complete with decorations and ritual items.

Therefore, it would not be too surprising if it turns out that they were indeed the very people who invented piercing.

As previously reported, scientists established that grains appeared in the diet of our ancestors as early as 780,000 years ago—half a million years earlier than previously thought.