This Middle Assyrian text, dated to around 1200 BCE, is one of the first detailed descriptions of chemistry that we know of. It is also attributed to a woman: Tappūtī-bēlet-ekallim. Tappūti was described as a “female perfumer,” a well-attested occupation in Mesopotamia. In the detailed but broken text (translated here and also here), “you” (the chemist) are instructed to distill and clarify a mixture of herbs, including calamus reeds, myrtle, and almonds, using various specialized vessels.
The text ends with three lines of identification:
Perfumery [recipe] for two units of refined cane oil, good enough for a king! Excerpted from the dictation of Tappūtī-bēlet-ekallim, the female perfumer. Month Muhur-ilāni, twentieth day, the year named for Qatnu-Qardu the steward.
