Hairstyles Through the Ages Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lotus blossoms

The amount of decoration that went into an Egyptian hair style very much depended on the social group to which they belonged. The very wealthy, for example, decorated their hair with gold diadems and threaded gold tubes through their ringlets, while the poorer women contented themselves with berries and petals. Hair was never left uncombed.

It was either shoulder length, plaited, or worn in ponytails. Young boys usually had their heads completely shaved except for one curl on one side of their head. That was called the lock of youth.

The middle-aged and elderly also took great pains to appear with every hair in place, and often wore wigs to disguise any hint of grey tresses, or dyed these with henna.

Answer: Gold powder

Most Greek women from that era wore their hair pulled back and knotted in a variety of ways to sit into the nape of their necks. Into these tresses, one would seldom see a Greek woman whose hair wasn't also enhanced with either flowers, ribbons or other forms of decorations.

As blondes were very rare in Ancient Greece hair was frequently either dyed this colour or a deep red as well. Men, on the other hand, usually wore their hair short or removed altogether, but to compensate for this, they grew beards instead.

Answer: Attractiveness

Mind you, attractiveness was closely associated with wealth during this period of history, for the more elaborate a hairstyle, the wealthier and more attractive the woman was perceived to be. Poorer women had to be content with pulling the hair back into a soft bun, and encircling their hair with bands to keep it from falling into their faces.

The wealthier, in addition to their very elaborate hairstyles, often inserted false hair strands into the style as well in order to make their hair appear ever fuller and more lustrous than it already was. If worn down at all, it was either with ringlets or with elaborate braids, which were further enhanced with jewels.

The length of men's hair or beards went up and down or in and out as the fashions changed over the years.

Interestingly, it was the emperor Nero, with the curls he wore to enhance his face, who started the fashion of sideburns.

Answer: Forehead

Worn long at that period in history, women's hairstyles wee also expected to be decorously braided as well, but the focus of any ornament had to be on the forehead. Men at the same time, wealthy men that is, were expected to shave their heads entirely, but, like the early Egyptians, had to leave a lock of hair on the side of the head.

The purpose of these fashions for both men and women was to allow the heavenly deities to pull people into heaven. As the centuries progressed, later women were expected to cut their hair shorter and wear it in a bun on the side of the head or resting in the nape of the neck - while men were expected to grow their hair longer and wear it in braids.

Answer: Because it was inherited from their parents

So it was worn very long as a result. Fortunately, while they remained single, Chinese women were allowed to braid their hair to keep it neatly in place. After marriage, however, Chinese women were expected to wear their hair neatly arranged on the top of their heads, with one or two curls showing to indicate that they were indeed spoken for. Men in various parts of China were expected to shave the front of their heads, and to wear the rest in a plait known as a queue. That particular fashion persisted for centuries until finally abandoned by China's last emperor in 1922.

Answer: A small box

Up until the 7th century Japanese women were expected to wear their hair bound tightly around heads, and culminating in a ponytail down the back, but following that period until the 14th century, they were expected to wear their hair long and loose because this was considered a sign of beauty. From the 16th century however, the buns we are more familiar with began to be worn by Japanese and these were always adorned with either ribbons, carved sticks, combs and even small fans - or a combination of all.

This was followed in the next hundred year by the shimada, a small box attached to the back of their heads, through which hair was woven. The hair styles of Japanese men followed that of their Chinese counterparts for many centuries. This included the ponytail with the front part of their heads shaved.

Answer: It was shaved off completely

In Africa, each tribe had a sometimes markedly different style which women were expected to wear to enhance their beauty. Single Masai women, for example, dyed their hair red, spent hours braiding it, and then adorned it with a colourful headdress. Once they married however, and to symbolise this new stage in their lives, their hair was shaved. Boys on the other hand, had to wear their heads shaved up until the age of circumcision, after which they were allowed to grow it as long as they liked, on the condition that they kept it braided.

Answer: Butterfly whorls

Also known as squash blossoms, these large adornments on either side of a single Hopi maiden's head looked a little like enlarged Mickey Mouse ears as well. Their purpose was to symbolise their unmarried state and they were created by weaving the hair around suitably shaped blocks of wood. Native American men had an assortment of hair styles they wore, but these depended on the tribe to which they belonged.

Some had their heads shaved into a tonsure, some wore a ridge of hair along the top, some wore a scalp lock only, others wore their hair braided, and so on. To older men, their hair was a symbol of their power and the longer it was grown, they more wisdom and power it was believed they possessed.

Answer: A knot on the top of their heads

That took place in Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire when Germanic tribes from the north of Europe flooded into the area left vacant by the receding Romans. These new tribes brought new customs with them, and, to a degree, the hairstyle worn by those in charge played a relatively significant role.

The knot worn on the top of their heads not only was a symbol of their power but was also thought to make them seem more intimidating to any would-be enemies brave enough to take them on. Lesser mortals males usually worn their hair down and parted down the centre.

They also wore large and bushy beards as well, a fashion that prevailed for centuries until Pope Gregory made them illegal for members of the priesthood, after which men everywhere began to remove their own as well. Women from this period simply grew their hair long and wore it in two dangling braids on either side of the head.

Answer: Veils

The all powerful Catholic church which basically controlled most aspects of daily life during this period of history, leading up to it, and for some centuries following, decreed that all women should cover their heads with a veil because hair was considered erotic and only belonged to their husbands. Oh what piffle - but does this sound familiar to you with another major world faith today? Married women back then however obediently covered their hair with veils and other similar fashions. During the Renaissance, such was the exposure of hair frowned upon, that the myth of high foreheads became associated with a woman's beauty and they foolishly plucked out their front hairline to ensure that this was the case. And, as you know, both men and women have, more or less, been slavishly following the decreed hair fashions ever since. Blow that.