Adam, Eve, ancient Egypt, the Greeks and Romans. They all were familiar with the naked body. Social nudism and naked recreation were widely spread under pharao Achnaton (1351-1333 BCE). Participants to the classic Olympic Games (776 BCE) were naked to honour the human body.
Through Alexander the Great nudism spread from the Indian subcontinent to Europe as a religious or philosophical statement, around the fourth century BCE.
Only with the arrival of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions the culture of shame came into view. Those movements are basically responsible for the downfall of social nudity.
