The history of nudity refers to social attitudes to nudity in different cultures in history.
The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of most human societies. It is not known when humans began wearing clothes. Anthropologists believe that animal skins and vegetation were adapted into coverings as protection from cold, heat and rain, especially as humans migrated to new climates; alternatively, covering may have been invented first for other purposes, such as magic, decoration, cult, or prestige, and later found to be practical as well.
However, many cultures have at times been relaxed dispensing with clothing, at least for some purposes and in some situations, or even full time.
Read more about History Of Nudity: Paleolithic History, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Japan, Traditional Cultures, Recent History
Famous quotes containing the words history of, history and/or nudity:
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“This above all makes history useful and desirable: it unfolds before our eyes a glorious record of exemplary actions.”
—Titus Livius (Livy)
“Nudity is the uniform of the other side ... nudity is a shroud.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)