Q 01/05

How wide was the ear piercing found on Ötzi the Iceman?

A) 7-11 mm

B) 12-16 mm

C) 20-25 mm

D) 30-40 mm

Answer · why

A) 7-11 mm

That is a stretched lobe by modern standards, more than five millennia ago.

Q 02/05

The oldest known ear jewellery came from the Royal Cemetery of which ancient city?

A) Mycenae

B) Ur

C) Thebes

D) Babylon

Answer · why

B) Ur

They date to about 2550 BCE in the Early Dynastic Period III of Sumer.

Q 03/05

In Exodus, Aaron makes the golden calf by melting down what?

A) Arm bracelets

B) Silver coins

C) Ear ornaments

D) Nose ornaments

Answer · why

C) Ear ornaments

Elsewhere in the Bible, Jacob buries his household's earrings and Deuteronomy prescribes ear piercing for a slave who chooses to stay.

Q 04/05

Nose piercing is documented as far back as which date?

A) 1500 BCE

B) 500 BCE

C) 300 CE

D) 1000 CE

Answer · why

A) 1500 BCE

The Vedas of that era refer to a goddess's nose piercings.

Q 05/05

Which Hindu goddess's nose piercings are mentioned in the Vedas?

A) Saraswati

B) Parvati

C) Kali

D) Lakshmi

Answer · why

D) Lakshmi

Modern Indian nose-piercing practice is thought to have arrived with the Mughals in the 16th century.