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HISTORY OF SOAP |
The
origins
of
personal
cleanliness
date
back
to
prehistoric
times.
Since
water
is
essential
for
life,
the
earliest
people
lived
near
water
and
knew
something
about
its
cleansing
properties
-
at
least
that
it
rinsed
mud
off
their
hands.
A
soap-like
material
found
in
clay
cylinders
during
the
excavation
of
ancient
Babylon
is
evidence
that
soapmaking
was
known
as
early
as
2800
B.C.
Inscriptions
on
the
cylinders
say
that
fats
were
boiled
with
ashes,
which
is
a
method
of
making
soap,
but
do
not
refer
to
the
purpose
of
the
"soap."
Such
materials
were
later
used
as
hair
styling
aids.
Records
show
that
ancient
Egyptians
bathed
regularly.
The
Ebers
Papyrus,
a
medical
document
from
about
1500
B.C.,
describes
combining
animal
and
vegetable
oils
with
alkaline
salts
to
form
a
soap-like
material
used
for
treating
skin
diseases,
as
well
as
for
washing
At
about
the
same
time,
Moses
gave
the
Israelites
detailed
laws
governing
personal
cleanliness.
He
also
related
cleanliness
to
health
and
religious
purification.
Biblical
accounts
suggest
that
the
Israelites
knew
that
mixing
ashes
and
oil
produced
a
kind
of
hair
gel.
The
early
Greeks
bathed
for
aesthetic
reasons
and
apparently
did
not
use
soap.
Instead,
they
cleaned
their
bodies
with
blocks
of
clay,
sand,
pumice
and
ashes,
then
anointed
themselves
with
oil,
and
scraped
off
the
oil
and
dirt
with
a
metal
instrument
known
as
a
strigil.
They
also
used
oil
with
ashes.
Clothes
were
washed
without
soap
in
streams.
Soap
got
its
name,
according
to
an
ancient
Roman
legend,
from
Mount
Sapo,
where
animals
were
sacrificed.
Rain
washed
a
mixture
of
melted
animal
fat,
or
tallow,
and
wood
ashes
down
into
the
clay
soil
along
the
Tiber
River.
Women
found
that
this
clay
mixture
made
their
wash
cleaner
with
much
less
effort.
The
ancient
Germans
and
Gauls
are
also
credited
with
discovering
a
substance
called
soap,
made
of
tallow
and
ashes,
that
they
used
to
tint
their
hair
red.
As
Roman
civilization
advanced,
so
did
bathing.
The
first
of
the
famous
Roman
baths,
supplied
with
water
from
their
aqueducts,
was
built
about
312
B.C.
The
baths
were
luxurious,
and
bathing
became
very
popular.
By
the
second
century
A.D.,
the
Greek
physician,
Galen,
recommended
soap
for
both
medicinal
and
cleansing
purposes.
After
the
fall
of
Rome
in
467
A.D.
and
the
resulting
decline
in
bathing
habits,
much
of
Europe
felt
the
impact
of
filth
upon
public
health.
This
lack
of
personal
cleanliness
and
related
unsanitary
living
conditions
contributed
heavily
to
the
great
plagues
of
the
Middle
Ages,
and
especially
to
the
Black
Death
of
the
14th
century.
It
wasn't
until
the
17th
century
that
cleanliness
and
bathing
started
to
come
back
into
fashion
in
much
of
Europe.
Still
there
were
areas
of
the
medieval
world
where
personal
cleanliness
remained
important.
Daily
bathing
was
a
common
custom
in
Japan
during
the
Middle
Ages.
And
in
Iceland,
pools
warmed
with
water
from
hot
springs
were
popular
gathering
places
on
Saturday
evenings.
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