 Whether condoms were used in ancient civilizations is debated by archaeologists and historians . In ancient Egypt , Greece , and Rome , pregnancy prevention was generally seen as a woman 's responsibility , and the only well documented contraception methods were female @-@ controlled devices . In Asia before the 15th century , some use of glans condoms ( devices covering only the head of the penis ) is recorded . Condoms seem to have been used for contraception , and to have been known only by members of the upper classes . In China , glans condoms may have been made of <unk> silk paper , or of lamb intestines . In Japan , they were made of tortoise shell or animal horn . 
