Tapputi

Tapputi is a Babylonian perfumer named on a cuneiform tablet from the second millennium BCE. Her recorded use of distillation and plant extraction makes her one of the earliest named practitioners associated with chemical techniques.

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Babylonian perfumery tablet: A cuneiform tablet describing perfume-making procedures and naming Tapputi and a colleague. This is the principal surviving evidence for Tapputi’s work.
Distillation: A separation process that vaporizes a mixture and condenses its components. The tablet describes repeated heating and condensation in perfume preparation.
Belat-ekallim: A woman named alongside Tapputi on a Babylonian perfume-making tablet. The tablet credits her as Tapputi’s collaborator.
Ancient technology: Tools, materials, and practical techniques developed by ancient societies. Tapputi’s work is best situated among skilled ancient technologies.
Cuneiform: A writing system used in the ancient Near East, formed from wedge-shaped marks impressed on clay. The surviving account of Tapputi was written in this script.
Botanical extraction: The recovery of useful compounds from plants using solvents, heat, or other physical methods. Plant materials supplied fragrant ingredients in the procedures attributed to Tapputi.
Enheduanna: A Sumerian-Akkadian high priestess and poet whose works are among the earliest attributed to a named author. Her better-documented authorship contrasts with the sparse evidence about Tapputi.
History of perfume: The history of making, trading, and using fragrant substances. Her tablet is an early written record of perfume production.
Babylonia: An ancient Mesopotamian kingdom centered on the city of Babylon. Tapputi’s tablet belongs to the Babylonian world.
Perfume: A mixture of aromatic substances formulated to impart a fragrance. Perfume was the product her recorded procedures aimed to make.