I've heard that an old archeology trick for telling bone from stone is to lick it, since fossil bone is more porous and will stick to your wet tongue a bit. Klingon archeologists are obviously more rigorous when they apply this test, and require licking it again (roSqa') to get two data points.

Traditionally, a no'laS pa' was a place where you could unwind by putting paint on your ancestors. (It's also "salon" backwards.)