This post is no longer available click here to redirect to Tapputi Bellatekallim: The First Perfumer?

Author’s Note:

In 2016 I wrote the post, The Lost History of Women in Chemistry: The First Perfumer. In the interim, my knowledge of Assyriology and Mesopotamian olfactory history has grown, and I no longer agree with how I framed that original story. Also, I feel errors in the original post contributed to spreading misinformation about Tapputi online. Even though those errors were corrected and noted years ago, the post continued to be cited in support of that inaccurate information. So instead of editing that piece, I chose to remove it from the site to break those lines of citation. You can find an archived version of the original post here. The updated post linked above reflects my current understanding of the subject and the most up-to-date academic discourse on Tapputi and Mesopotamian perfumery. As my readers, I feel you deserve the best I have to offer, and sometimes that means admitting that past work was not up to standard and needs to be updated. I will always strive to put the best-researched material out and be transparent with you about the process. -Nuri