Question:
I'm just curious if anyone knows or has any guesses who the very first fragrance users were and what the perfumed themselves with. I've heard that royals perfumed themselves with various oils as far back as records go. What extracts did they use?

Answer:
Well, I know that the prophet Muhammad wore fragrance and that many Muslims wear it to the Mosque in order to present themselves in the best possible way to god. In addition, since the prophet Muhammad was the ideal man, Muslims all want to follow his actions to become more like the ideal man. Wikipedia has some good stuff about this as well.

Answer:
We won't even be able to guess as to the very earliest. All we have are ancient writings to indicate some used them early in recorded history but the use of scent must go back much, much beyond that. I can imagine early woman/man using as a scent anything that struck them as something they or others would like to smell.

Answer:
Even farther back than Muhammad was King Solomon. In the old testament (Muhammad after new testament), they say in Solomon song of songs that he perfumed himself with saffron, spices, and the flowers of the woods. It goes even farther back to ancient Egypt however, where the excessive heat made everybody sweat a lot. Those who had the money could purchase beeswax that had essential oils distilled in it. The heat would melt the beeswax and release the scent in great quantities, hopefully masking BO. I know it goes farther back than this, but I can't for the life of me remember where. Definitely Africa (cradle of mankind), but the place and time I do not know.
I can't imagine non-speaking man using perfume though. They wouldn't know that they smelled bad, they would just assume that that was the way people were supposed to smell.
- Rich

Answer:
I posted a thread a while back on this. Two sides to this thread, one is the documented history about it, the other is a light hearted theory (my theory).
Here is the link :
/showthread.php?t=186040
Have fun .

Answer:
The archaeological data indicates that the Ancient Egyptians were the first serious perfume lovers, long before Solomon or Muhammad.
I suggest you purchase/borrow Mandy Aftel's "Essence and Alchemy" book and you will find lots of assorted historical info.
A Google search on "ancient egypt perfume" might also reveal hidden treasures (there is well documented info on kyphi and other ingredients they used) ;-)

Answer:
here's an excerpt from Pliny the Elder's famous work Historia Naturalis (Book 13 - Chapters 1 ~ 5) on this matter, which dates from the 1st century AD:
http://www.scentedpages.com/historia.html
it's not 100% historically accurate, but it's interesting nevertheless.

Answer:
A little blurb I found online

History of Perfume

The Egyptians

When looking back into history, many agree that the Egyptians, during the Queen Sheba's rule [queen of Yemen and Ethiopia], were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture. From the religious ceremonies involving the burning of incense to the embalming of the dead, perfume was an integral part of the Egyptian life. "The most important perfume used by the Egyptians was the kyphi. Scholars claim that when the tomb of Tutankhamen was opened, this was the odor that issued forth". But even scents like the fragrant myrrh were considered more precious than gold.

Perfume did not linger only in spiritual ceremonies: the Egyptians were also the first to anoint their bodies with the scents of cinnamon and honey. Depicted on the walls of the temple of Edfu, one can also see the depiction of the art of floral extraction as perfume is distilled from the flowers of the white Madonna lily. This "essential accessory" was reserved mostly for the powerful and the wealthy. Both men and women alike wore the precious scents. With the death of the mystical Cleopatra, so also died the Egyptian grandeur and appreciation of beauty. For thousands of years perfumes had been used widely as an integral part of their culture even though almost all of the herbs and flowers were from abroad, from Palestine, Persia, India, and Arabia.

Answer:
Wow! You guys are really knowledgable! Did this thread inspire some research, or had most of you already read up on this topic?

Answer:
Already read the book.
- Rich