Perfume History

First Uses (c. 3000 BCE): The earliest forms of fragrance began as incense—burning fragrant woods and resins (the word “perfume” comes from the Latin per fumum, meaning “through smoke”). The ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Indus Valley civilizations used scented oils, unguents, and incense for religious rituals, medicinal purposes, and personal adornment.

First Recorded Perfumer (c. 1200 BCE): The earliest documented perfume maker on record was a Mesopotamian chemist named Tapputi. A cuneiform tablet from 1200 BCE describes how she used flowers, oils, calamus, and solvents, utilizing early distillation techniques to craft complex scents.

Oldest Perfume Factory (c. 2000 BCE): Archaeologists in Pyrgos, Cyprus, discovered the world’s oldest known perfume production site, dating back over 4,000 years. The facility operated on an industrial scale, using alabaster vessels, stills, and mixing bowls to produce scented oils infused with herbs like laurel, myrtle, and pine.