In these times of a globalpandemic, masks have become part of our daily lives. But actually, masks have always been around in one way or another. Let’s take a look at just how they’ve evolved over the course ofhuman history.
We don’t know exactlywhen people first started wearing masks. We could have started wearing them as far back as 40,000 years ago. That’s when humans created the first artworkwith figures that combined human and animal qualities. To date, however, the oldest masks ever discovered are around 9,000 years old.
Generally, it’s believed that people first started wearing masks as a sign of authority. From there, masks took ona number of different roles. In ancient Greece, they were worn for Dionysia, parties where the normal rules of society ceasedto apply. Later, at the Carnivalof Venice, from around the mid-13th century, masks were used to make everyone feel equal. In the 15th century, Jewish people began wearing carnival masks during their Purimfestivities.
In short, masks have been worn for thousands of years and for many different purposes. What’s more, almost every culture has its own unique form of masks, with their own meanings and traditions behind them.
