Timeless Trinkets Trivia Quiz

Answer: Shells

Although there is some disagreement as to the oldest known piece of jewelry, the necklace found in Blombos Cave, first excavated in 1991, is definitely one of the oldest at approximately 75,000 years. The shell beads used for the necklace are of a uniform size, and all have a similarly placed hole which would have been used to string the beads together into a necklace.

At Qafzeh Cave in Israel, evidence of shells that were stringed and used as jewelry is believed by some to date to almost 100,000 years ago.

Answer: Copper

The bracelet in the picture, which resembles a modern charm bracelet, was made in approximately 300 B.C.-A.D. 150, by the Dodson Culture in Thailand. The decorations on the bracelet are bells, and the material used in making the trinket was copper alloy.

Although it varies from place to place, copper smelting dates to approximately 7,500 years ago. Copper wasn't a strong enough metal to make long-lasting weapons, but it was used to make beautiful jewelry. A copper alloy would have copper as its main component, mixed with other metal such as zinc or nickel. Of course, copper mixed with tin produced bronze, which eventually was the next metal smelted during the Age of Metals.

Answer: Hair decoration

There was tremendous wealth in ancient Mesopotamia, and that was reflected by the fact that everyone of all classes typically wore decorative jewelry. Both men and women wore items such as ankle bracelets, earrings, signet rings, and hair decorations. This pair, crafted of gold, date to approximately 2,000 BC. They are decorated with granulation and cloisonné.

Answer: Diadem

Decorated with rosettes and the heads of gazelles, this lovely diadem is made from electrum, which is an alloy of gold and silver. Inspired by Asian art, or possibly made there and imported, it is believed that by the 18th Dynasty (1550-1298 BC) it became popular for lesser queens and princesses to wear crowns decorated with a gazelle's head rather than the uraeus or vulture that would be used to represent a principal queen. Perhaps one of the pharaohs was planning to marry a foreign bride and this was part of her trousseau? The ancient Egyptians did hunt gazelles and admire them for their graceful beauty. Anuket, the ancient goddess of the Nile River, was usually pictured with the body of a woman and the head of a gazelle.

Answer: Griffin

Dating to approximately 500 BC, this bracelet/armlet was found in the modern-day country of Iran. The griffin, a legendary creature with the head and wings of of an eagle and the body of a lion, was believed by the ancients to be an extremely powerful creature, a symbol of divine power. Believed to be the king of all creatures, griffins were used to guard treasure and other important possessions. During the Achaemenid period, the griffin, sometimes called a lion-griffin, was viewed as a protector from evil, witchcraft and secret slander.

Answer: Crete

Dating from 1700-1550 BC, the bees on the pendant are actually wasps that are believed to be either storing or sharing a drop of honey! This is a very fine piece of jewelry that was made using two relatively new techniques of the time - granulation and soldering. Small gold balls, the granules, decorate the bodies of the wasps and the drop of honey; they are held on with copper solder.

Answer: Drop

Crafted from gold in the 16th BC, this earring, which may be viewed in the Louvre, measures approximately 1.1 in. x 1.6 in. There are many different types of earrings; studs are usually constructed with a post that goes through the earlobe and fastens in the back with a clutch. Barbell earrings have a metal bar with an orb at either end; one of the orbs is usually removable to allow the barbell to be inserted into the piercing. Hoop earrings are circular or semi-circular in design and look like a ring. Drop earrings, which vary in length, attach to the earlobe and dangle from a chain or hoop.

They can also be called pendant earrings or chandelier earrings.

Answer: Cloisonné

One of the favorite colonies of the ancient Greeks was the Black Sea region, in what is now Ukraine. The bracelets, made in the first century BC, were found in a town there, Olbia, in the late 1800s. Not only are the bracelets decorated with gemstones and cloisonné, there is also granulation and beading work. To create cloisonné, cloisons are added to the metal object by soldering thin metal wires; then an enamel paste or other inlays are applied and fired in a kiln.

This process created beautiful pieces of jewelry, was was also used for decorating clothing and even weapons!

Answer: Celtic

The Celtic brooch is more correctly called a penannular brooch or pseudo-penannular brooch. Both brooch types are large and have a long pin attached to the ring. On a penannular brooch the ring will not be closed - there will be a gap that is wide enough for the pin to pass through.

The brooch in the picture, therefore, is a pseudo-penannular because the ring is closed. This type of brooch was probably less effective in fastening clothing. Found at Ballinderry Crannog, the bronze brooch dates to the 9th century; the tri-lobed knots are a symbol of the Trinity.

Answer: False

A choker, which sits high on the neck, usually measures 14-16 inches long. The necklace in the picture would most accurately be called an rope necklace, which is the term for any necklace longer than an opera necklace, which is 30-35 inches. The extraordinary Roman necklace, which dates from the early third century, can be worn two ways: either longer, sitting at the breastbone, or sliding the chains through the beads, and making a shorter, double-stranded necklace.