Ancestral Medicine Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- Which famous Greek physician is considered the father of Western medicine?
- A. Hippocrates
- B. Aristotle
- C. Galen
- D. Socrates
- What are the three 'humours' or doshas in Ayurveda called?
- A. Earth, Water, Fire
- B. Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic
- C. Vata, Pitta, Kapha
- D. Yin, Yang, Qi
- Which ancestral remedy, used by the Egyptians, was often applied to wounds for its antiseptic properties?
- A. Olive oil
- B. Clay
- C. Vinegar
- D. Honey
- Which organ does traditional Chinese medicine associate with the emotion of anger?
- A. The heart
- B. The lung
- C. The liver
- D. The spleen
- What is the basis of traditional Native American medicine?
- A. Moonbeams
- B. The connection with nature and the spiritual world
- C. Solar rays
- D. Plastic surgery
- Which ancient civilization created the first structured hospitals?
- A. England
- B. China
- C. Greece
- D. India (under Ashoka)
- In Antiquity, which practice consisted of opening a vein to balance the humours?
- A. Bloodletting
- B. Homeopathy
- C. Trepanation
- D. Acupuncture
- What is the purpose of the 'Ayurvedic massage' (Abhyanga)?
- A. To replace exercise
- B. To improve eyesight
- C. To lose weight
- D. To harmonize the doshas and nourish the skin
- What is the main role of acupuncture?
- A. To release energy blockages
- B. To heal broken bones
- C. To stimulate the heart by piercing it
- D. To inject substances
- Which ancestral medicine places great importance on the 'Prakriti' constitution?
- A. Tibetan
- B. Ayurvedic
- C. Egyptian
- D. Chinese
- Which organ is linked to the element 'Water' in Chinese medicine?
- A. The heart
- B. The liver
- C. The kidney
- D. The spleen
- What is special about 'adaptogenic plants'?
- A. They purify the air
- B. They help the body manage stress
- C. They kill bacteria
- D. They are hallucinogenic
- Which civilization is known for its advanced knowledge of pharmacopoeia thanks to the Ebers Papyrus?
- A. The Egyptians
- B. The Babylonians
- C. The Aztecs
- D. The Greeks
- What was the use of 'fire' in ancient medicine?
- A. To heat medicines
- B. As a purifying ritual
- C. To cauterize wounds
- D. All of the above
- What is the foundation of shamanic medicine?
- A. Observation of the stars
- B. Chemistry
- C. Energetic and spiritual balance
- D. Complex surgery
- Which natural element formed the basis of 'therapeutic baths' in ancient Rome?
- A. Sea water
- B. River water
- C. Sulfurous water
- D. Rainwater
- In medieval European medicine, what was called a 'Theriaca'?
- A. A plant poison
- B. A fasting regimen
- C. A universal antidote made from many ingredients
- D. A surgical instrument
- Which 16th-century French surgeon replaced cauterising wounds with boiling oil by tying off blood vessels?
- A. Ambroise Paré
- B. Louis Pasteur
- C. René Laennec
- D. Dominique Larrey
- What did the Italian word 'malaria' originally mean?
- A. Swamp disease
- B. Black fever
- C. Little mosquito
- D. Bad air
- Which instrument did French physician René Laennec invent in 1816, at first using just a rolled-up notebook?
- A. The stethoscope
- B. The thermometer
- C. The blood pressure monitor
- D. The scalpel
Answer key — Ancestral Medicine Quiz
- A. HippocratesHippocrates revolutionized medicine by separating disease from superstition and advocating clinical observation.
- C. Vata, Pitta, KaphaThe balance of these three doshas is the basis of health according to Ayurvedic tradition.
- D. HoneyHoney was commonly used by ancient Egyptians to treat skin infections thanks to its antibacterial properties.
- C. The liverIn Chinese medicine, each emotion is linked to an organ, and anger is linked to the liver.
- B. The connection with nature and the spiritual worldFor indigenous peoples, healing is holistic, integrating body, mind and environment.
- D. India (under Ashoka)Emperor Ashoka established well-organized public health institutions as early as the 3rd century BC.
- A. BloodlettingBloodletting was a standard practice in European and Arab humoral medicine.
- D. To harmonize the doshas and nourish the skinAbhyanga uses medicinal oils to calm the nervous system and rebalance the body.
- A. To release energy blockagesBy stimulating precise points, acupuncture aims to restore the harmonious flow of Qi.
- B. AyurvedicPrakriti is the unique constitution of an individual determined at birth.
- C. The kidneyThe kidney is the seat of vital essence (Jing) and is associated with the Water element.
- B. They help the body manage stressThese plants increase the body's non-specific resistance to external stressors.
- A. The EgyptiansThe Ebers Papyrus is one of the oldest known medical treatises, cataloguing hundreds of remedies.
- D. All of the aboveFire was an omnipresent medical, technical and symbolic tool.
- C. Energetic and spiritual balanceDisease is seen as a spiritual imbalance requiring reconnection with the sacred.
- C. Sulfurous waterThe Romans frequented sulfurous thermal baths to treat skin diseases and joint pain.
- C. A universal antidote made from many ingredientsTheriaca, the legendary remedy of Greek origin, sometimes contained more than 60 ingredients and was reputed to cure all poisons and diseases.
- A. Ambroise ParéA battlefield surgeon to four kings, he noticed one day, having run out of oil, that the unburned wounded fared better.
- D. Bad airPeople thought swamp miasmas caused the fever. In fact it is a parasite carried by mosquitoes…
- A. The stethoscopeEmbarrassed to press his ear against a female patient's chest, he rolled sheets of paper into a tube and heard the heart far more clearly.