AROMATHERAPY IN ANCIENT TIMES
Our distant ancestors, ten thousands years ago, must have known how and what to eat before they even knew how to make fire and cook food. Even in those early times they may have known simply from experience that some plants were poisonous, some would induce vomiting or diarrhoea and other aided digestion. They almost certainly used their nose, as well as their eyes, to determine whether a plant was the one they were seeking, or whether it was suitable to eat.
It is impossible to point to a date when plants were first used medically. In the course of thousands of years the healing virtues of plants must have gradually been discovered. When man learned how to make fire he must have sometimes burned aromatic plants, finding that some were good to eat with cooked food, and that others made a pleasant smell.
Through burning aromatic plants they would have discovered other properties; sometimes the smoke would be good to breathe, sometimes it would make one feel drowsy or invigorated.
Smoking a patient is one of the earliest recorded forms of treatment with herbs. It was often used to drive out evil spirits.
These plants also came to be used for other reasons, perhaps being burnt as offerings to the sun of Mother Earth, or on the birth of a child or the death of an enemy.
Noticing the effects of herbal infusions and decoctions on the body, and the effects of herb smoke on the mind, early man naturally attributed some power to them. As offerings, then, they had a real significance, and were associated with the earliest forms of ritual and magic. Even today, in some parts of the world, herbs are only picked when the moon and stars are in a certain position, and a particular chant is recited as the plant is being gathered, sometimes a different chant being required for each herb.
The senses of our distant ancestors were probably more acute than ours. Civilization may bring refinement in some senses, but it can not increase the acuity of our basic instincts and the perception of our senses. We do not use our nose to smell the direction of the wind, the where about of an enemy, or the tracks
of an animal, although there are a few tribes in South America, who can track by smell. Smelling fine perfumes may increase our appreciation of sophisticated scents, but we have lost the ability to smell an enemy, a poisonous herb, or a particular disease. The sense of smell is very closely linked to proverbial ”sixth sense”.
During the neolithic period of the Eastern world, between 6000 and 9000 years ago, Man discovered that plants such as olive, castor and sesame contained fatty oil, which could be extracted by pressing. The flax plant, which was also used to make clothes, yielded linsees oil. If, at this period man could bake bread and use herbs in cooking and in medicine, it is quite plausible to suppose, that he could make scented oils. He undoubtedly used fatty oils to rub on his body and his hair.
Finding that these oils went racid after a time and began to smell bad, it is possible, that he began to scent them with aromatic herbs commonly used in the kitchen, on the fire, and in medicines. If such scented oils were made by neolithic man, he may then have found that they had similar effects to the herbs, when the body was massaged with them.
A number of vessels, mostly made of alabaster and dating between 3000 and 2000 BC, can be seen in the Egyptian rooms of the British Museum. Some of them look bizarre like ointment pots, and others, more vertically orientated, were probably made for scented oils. For the period in which they were living the Egyptian people were incredibly advanced; so much so, in fact, that the pyramids they built still present us with a number of unsolved questions, which the most scientific mind cannot unravel.
How were the pyramids built ? How were such enormous stones made to fit so perfectly together, to form an enormous perfect shape containing hundreds of yards of tunnels and tombs ?
No satisfactory answer has yet been given. Perhaps we have found a clue to the reason for their shape, in the fact that it preserves corpses, whether they are embalmed or not. But if this is the reason, how did the Egyptians come to discover it ?
If we look at their buildings, their carvings, their culture and their art, we see a nation at a very height of civilization. This is the same period in which one of the oldest books in the world is supposed to have been written. The Yellow Emperor of Classic of Internal Medicine, a Chinese text, was written by Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor or Yellow Lord. This ancient author also knew things that we are only now beginning to understand. His book deals mainly with the causes and treatment of disease, and is the most important text for all acupuncturists, even the Chinese.
While the Chinese were developing acupuncture, the Egyptians were, among other things, acquiring knowledge of essences.
The twelfth dynasty was the golden age of Egyptian jewellery; during this time cosmetics were also widely used. These consisted mainly of kohl (an early equivalent to our mascara) eyes-shadow, which was usually green, and various unguents and ointments to beautify the complexion. They used red ochre to colour the lips and cheeks, and henna to stain the hands and fingernails a deep orange/yellow. White lead was also used to whiten the face, but being highly poisonous, it was probably not much used. Some very beautiful cosmetic boxes have been recovered, dating from the twelfth dynasty (c.2000 BC). These ornate boxes contain small pots and jars made of stone, which would have contained some of the cosmetics mentioned above, included scented unguents.
When the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amon was opened in 1922, a number of such vases and scent pots were discovered, some containing unguents. These had been placed in the tomb, when it was sealed in 1350 BC, – over 3000 years ago. The pots were made of calcite, and the contents, which had solidified, later revealed the presence of frankincense and something resembling Indian spikenard. These were mixed in a base of animal fat, which formed 90% of the blend. The scent, though understandably faint, was still detectable.
At first these unguents were probably highly valued, and only used by royal families and perhaps the high priests. Later on they would become less sacred, and wider used by ordinary people. They would be used in cosmetics, massage-oils, medicines and so on. There are papyri recording the medicinal use of herbs, dating back to the reign of Khufu, who built the Great Pyramid 2800 BC. All these records show, that magic was considered being just as effective as medicine. In order for a remedy to have its full effect, it was customary for the physician to recite a magic formula four times. This kind of recitation was common in many other civilizations, and is still used by herbalists or witch doctors in part of Africa.
Aromatic oils
So, the value of natural plant oils has been recognized for more than 6000 years, for their healing, cleansing, preservative and mood-enhancing properties, as well as for the sheer pleasure of their fragrances. Today, these properties are being rediscovered as we look to the wisdom of past eras and civilizations to restore the balance that has been lost in modern-day life. Stress, pollution, unhealthy diet, hectic but sedentary lifestyles – all these factors have adverse effects on our bodies and spirits. The art of aromatherapy harnesses the potent pure essences of aromatic plants, flowers and resins, to work on the most powerful of senses – smell and touch – to restore the harmony of body and mind.
Secrets of oils discovered
The origins of aromatherapy can be traced through the religious medical and social practices of all the major civilizations. It is likely that the Chinese were the first to discover the remarkable medicinal power, of plants around 4500 b.C. However, it is the Egyptians who must take the credit for recognizing and fully exploiting the physical and spiritual properties of aromatic essences. From hieroglyphs and paintings we knew that aromatic preparations were used as offerings to the gods. Furthermore the natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties of essential oils and resins, particularly cedarwood and frankincense, made them ideal for the purpose of preserving corpses and preparation for the neat world. The discovery of remarkably well-preserved mummies up to 5000 years after their preparation is a tribute to the embalmer’s art.
By around 3000 b.C priests who had been using the oils in religious ceremonies and embalming rites became aware of the usefulness of their properties for the living, too. Closely guarding their secrets, they became the healers of their time, mixing and prescribing “magic” medicinal potions. The use of essential oils gradually– permeated to all levels of society as cosmetics and perfumes became widespread.
From Hippocrates we know the Greeks had same awareness of the therapeutic properties of the oils and their value as sedatives and stimulants was certainly recognized. The Greeks and Romans used aromatics widely at the rituals and ceremonies and the oils played an important role in the rise of popularity of baths and massage and body-culture generally. However, with the fall of the Roman Empire the use of essential oils died out in Europe.
The personal use of perfume was widespread in ancient Greece and Rome.
The Roman girl in this portrait from around 350 a.C carries a small pot of aromatics.
From the tomb of the noble Senedjem, in ancient Egypt. The cones of unguent worn on the heads melted in the heat, waxing and scenting the hair and body.
This Millesian container for perfumed oils is fashioned in the form of α Siren, α sea nymph of Greek mythology. It dates from around 525 b.C. when Miletus was one of the principal Ionian seaports.
From “The Art of Aromatherapy” by R. Tisserand
