The earliest rivets were small wooden or bone studs, and the earliest metal deformable body may be the ancestor of the rivets we know today. Undoubtedly, they are the oldest method of metal connection known to mankind, and can be traced back to the original use of malleable metals. For example, in the Bronze Age, the Egyptians used rivets to rivet the six wooden sectors of the outer line of a slotted wheel. Fastened together, the Greeks succeeded in casting a large statue in bronze, and then riveted the parts together with rivets.

In 1916, when H·V White of the British Aircraft Manufacturing Company obtained the patent for blind rivets that could be riveted on one side for the first time, people hardly expected that such rivets would be so widely used today. From aerospace to office machines, electronic products and sports field equipment, it can be said that this blind rivet has now become an effective and stable mechanical connection method.

Hollow rivets are mostly invented for the manufacture or maintenance of harness equipment. When the hollow rivets were invented, people are not very clear, but the harness was invented in the 9th or 10th century AD. Riveted horse gear, like a horseshoe with nails, liberated slaves from heavy labor. The rivets also led to many important inventions, such as iron pliers used by copper and iron workers and sheep shears.