By: Julia Hawkes

• 3300 B.C– Otzi the iceman lived. Discovered in 1991 and is the oldest documented human to have medicinal tattoos. Evidence that tattoos existed in prehistoric times.
  
• 2,000 B.C– first nose piercing documented.  Mentioned in the bible (Genesis 24:22). Along with tattoos, it shows ancient forms of body modification.
  
• 618 AD- foot binding became popular for woman in Chinese culture. Example of extreme body modification found in other cultures.
  
• 1827– Dr. John Peter Mettauer- first American surgeon made his mark on plastic surgery by preforming first cleft palate operation. Used self-designed instruments.
  
• 1837– corsets were worn to create ideal body shape. With severe tight lacing bodies began to adapt to the shape of the corset. Provides an example of using body modification for aesthetic reasons. Although corseting lost popularity in the 20th century, the desire to be thin continued on linked to potentially life-threatening illnesses such as anorexia.
  
• 1855– Sun became associated with health. Light therapy was used to treat depression and madness. People began to expose their skin to sunlight more thus era of tanning began.
  
• 1891– Samuel O’Reilly created hand-held machine that automatically moved needles up and down speeding up process of tattooing. Revolutionized tattooing in the United States.
• 1918– injuries from World War 1 led to increase in plastic and aesthetic surgery. Impacted the future of cosmetic surgery/increased popularity.
  
• 1990– Physique bodybuilding became popularized. This changed the view from a “freakish” appearance to a more desirable one.
  
• 2000- Within the past decade an increased rise in tattoos in the west. This shows the continual progression of body modification.