Introduction to Body Modification Ancient and Modern @ University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology presents

Bodies of Cultures--A World Tour of Body Modification

People around the world
have been piercing, tattooing, and painting their bodies for ages.
There's excellent evidence of this in the galleries of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, some of it dating as far back as the 9th century B.C.
Body modification and what it means is personal and cultural.

What's
the
big stink
over a
little
ink?

Pierced
ears?
Before
there
were
malls?

Can you
see any
better
with a
forehead
dot?

Is
Madonna
a
mehndi
wannabe?
Are you?

"The human body is a canvas for the expression of cultural ideas of men and women throughout time and around the world."
--Liz Sands, site developer