There is a lot of mystery which surrounds ancient history of fragrance. It is believed that primitive perfumery began with the burning of gums and resins for incense. Later on richly scented plants were included into animal and vegetable oils to anoint the body for pleasure and ceremonies. From 7000 to 4000 B.C., a combination of fatty oils of olive and sesame were used for creating original Neolithic ointments.

During the rule of Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, fragrant herbs, choice oils, perfumes and temple license were used. Egyptians were known for producing unguents and incense. By the late fifth century, Babylon became the main market for trade and they used cedar of Lebanon, myrtle, fir, pine, resin, juniper and cypress extensively.

In the seventh century B.C., Athens traded heavily in fragrant herbs such as marjoram, thyme, lily, iris, anise, rose and sage, which were infused into olive, castor, almond and linseed oils for making thick unguents. By the first century A.D., Rome was importing 2,800 tons of imported frankincense and 550 tons of myrrh per year. This period saw an accelerated development of aromatherapy’s source sciences.

Japanese have been credited for turning the use of incense into a fine art even though incense did not arrive in Japan until 500 A.D. During the middle ages the spread of Islam helped in expanding the appreciation and knowledge of fragrance. The spice trade had a lot of influence on the spread of fragrance and India offered a rich variety of scents including seventeen types of jasmine alone. In spite of losing control over the spice trade, Italy remained as the European leader for cosmetics and perfumes. It was during the sixteenth century that the number of plants distilled expanded and a number of books appeared on alchemy and the art of distillation.

By the nineteenth century there were two significant changes that had taken place in the world of fragrance. At the 1867 Paris International Exhibition, soaps and perfumes were exhibited apart from the pharmacy section which established an autonomous commercial arena for cosmetics. Secondly, the first synthetic fragrance called coumarin was produced in 1868 which was followed by musk, violet and vanilla. The list eventually expanded to hundreds and thousands of synthetic fragrance not suitable for medicinal application. The perfume industry was divorced from medicinal remedy for fifty long years, but gradually it regained its medicinal heritage when the term aromatherapy was given by French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefoss in 1928.

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