The history of herbalism

The power of nature

Over tens of thousands of years, our ancestors discovered and mastered the use of plants, herbs and roots. And Nature provided primitive men with much needed shelter, food, clothing, utensils and tools.
It was thanks to nature, that men discovered along the way, new natural resources, developed knowledge and new skills.

All these developments helped mankind to understand better the role of nature in our lives, by means of learning how to use plants to treat a wide array of health problems, sicknesses and ailments.

Ancient relationship

According to recent archaeological findings, our close relationship with nature goes far back in time.
And the earliest records of medicinal use of herbs by men goes back at least to 60.000 years ago.

Historical overview:

60.000 years ago, ancient Neanderthals were buried with medicinal herbs alongside the body;
5000 years ago the first herbalists in ancient Egypt, started prescribing the use of muir, propolis and honey to treat infected areas in the body.
When mummifying their pharaohs, the Egyptians often used plants to clean, preserve and scent their bodies. And both temples and religious ceremonies were regularly scented and purified with sacred herbs;
In 1500 B.C. ancient Egyptians started registering their knowledge of herbs in papyrus;
In 2700 B.C. ancient Chinese started making use of camphor and ginseng as medicinal remedies. And this appears reported in the famous book of " Pen Tsao"( Shen-Nung dynasty), which is believed to be the first written record worldwide, containing herbs for medicinal purposes;
In 700 B.C. both Incas, Mayas and Aztecs used cocoa leaves and sarsaparilla for medicinal purposes.
Ancient American cultures were also known, by having a wide knowledge of indigenous plants, making use of herbs as remedies, for religious ceremonies and to scent temples in honour of the Gods;
North and South American native cultures, had healing men and women (shamans) that used plants to treat a wide array of health and spiritual problems.

Additionally, herbs were also widely used by the ancient Greek, Persians, Tibetans and Indians (by the Indian Ayurveda health system).
There's not a civilization or culture worldwide who did not developed through time, a close relationship with nature.

And although ancient herbal knowledge has undergone great changes and scientific discoveries in the last few centuries, its still a promising field of study.
A good example of this, is the increasing popularity in western countries of both Tibetan and Indian herbal medicine.

Thus, ancient herbalism is still very much present in our lives and societies, finding new ways to reach us in the 21st century.