Humans have been deliberately altering their anatomies for thousands of years.
Why? Reasons vary greatly. For some cultures, it traces back to religious and spiritual beliefs, while for others, it's simply a case of appearing more (or in some cases purposefully less) attractive to the opposite sex.
Women of the Apatani tribe in Arunachal Pradesh, India, for example, traditionally wore these nose plugs to diminish their beauty, making them less vulnerable to abduction by men from other tribes, though these days it's a dying tradition.
Teeth sharpening is an ancient practice that traces its roots way back to early man. In some cultures teeth were filed down since they were believed to harness negative energy, while in others they were sharpened to indicate social standing, age, or to imitate ferocious animals.
Women from the Kayan Lahwi tribe in Myanmar start adding brass coils to their necks from the age of five, the weight of which pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage to give the illusion of longer necks.
Why? Reasons vary greatly. For some cultures, it traces back to religious and spiritual beliefs, while for others, it's simply a case of appearing more (or in some cases purposefully less) attractive to the opposite sex.
Women of the Apatani tribe in Arunachal Pradesh, India, for example, traditionally wore these nose plugs to diminish their beauty, making them less vulnerable to abduction by men from other tribes, though these days it's a dying tradition.
Teeth sharpening is an ancient practice that traces its roots way back to early man. In some cultures teeth were filed down since they were believed to harness negative energy, while in others they were sharpened to indicate social standing, age, or to imitate ferocious animals.
Women from the Kayan Lahwi tribe in Myanmar start adding brass coils to their necks from the age of five, the weight of which pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage to give the illusion of longer necks.
In the Ethiopian tribe of Mursi, the women wear large circular discs in their lips, achieved by piercing the bottom lip and fitting it with plates of increasing size. It might look dramatic and painful, but in Mursi tradition the larger the plate is, the more alluring the woman is considered to be.
A worshipper at the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand, where men and women prove their religious devotion by taking part in ritualistic self-mutilation and pain trials.
The last generation of Chinese women who had their feet bound to inhibit growth from a young age, an agonising process traditionally reserved for the higher classes, in part to display subservience to their husbands.
In Indonesia's Dani Village, New Guinea, some women like this one cut off the tips of their fingers when a relative die.
Abyei region of Sudan with scars inflicted on people's forehead and body - a traditional rite of passage whereby wounds are created and stopped from healing.
A worshipper at the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand, where men and women prove their religious devotion by taking part in ritualistic self-mutilation and pain trials.
The last generation of Chinese women who had their feet bound to inhibit growth from a young age, an agonising process traditionally reserved for the higher classes, in part to display subservience to their husbands.
In Indonesia's Dani Village, New Guinea, some women like this one cut off the tips of their fingers when a relative die.
Abyei region of Sudan with scars inflicted on people's forehead and body - a traditional rite of passage whereby wounds are created and stopped from healing.
Music: "Hidden Wonders" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: Daily Mail, Wikipedia
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