There are a few theories that don’t really answer the question. My particular favorite is the “beer theory.” According to a National Geographic News article, the Neolithic Revolution led directly to or from brewing beer. Cultivating the land caused communities to arise. One of the very first things men grew was cereal grains. And what did they do with the grain? Bake bread? Not! They made beer.

Beer may have been a serendipitous accident and may have happened some time before mankind settled on the land. Perhaps the boys were, in fact, trying to formulate bread. (I doubt it.) Or were otherwise looking for any promising means to make grain fit to be eaten. National Geographic News quotes Dave Alexander, owner and operator of the Brickskeller in Washington, D.C. who argues for beer being the explanation for civilization. Dave goes on to affirm, “There’s pretty strong evidence that after the first sampling of fermented beverages, man realized he had to end his nomadic life and settle down to grow grains and continue to produce the beer.” The soaked, fermented grains that started out so innocently became the most popular drink on earth. Even Julius Caesar labeled beer, “high and mighty liquor.”

Beer production hasn’t changed much in, give or take, 6000 years when the Samarians started their fairly simple process of converting grain starches into liquid sugar. By boiling a few hops in with the saturated grain, adding yeast (probably accidentally) and letting the concoction brew for a week or two they had an acceptable beer.

People who aren’t owners of microbreweries or ancient history professors tend to believe civilization came about absolutely only when agriculture took root and settled the Sumerians in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (translated loosely as “land of the civilized lords” or just plain “native land.”) They called themselves “black-headed people.” Most likely, they wandered extensively in the Tigris/Euphrates basin (now southern Iraq) when they were still boorish hunters. The climate must have hit their fancy since they decided to stay. Once they settled in along and between the rivers, tilling, planting and harvesting quickly followed. And, not long afterward, beer.

Old Earth was ready for humanity to settle down and take root anywhere they relished. The Fertile Crescent was merely the earliest site settled. Wherever the bands of our ancient ancestors discovered great river valleys and good soil, they put down roots. Consequently, in China entirely new cultures grew up along the Yellow River. The Indus Valley made a home for a stable Indian civilization. The Nile valley in Africa developed into one of the most fertile farming areas in the entire world and for thousands of years supported an extraordinary series of splendid human societies we call Egypt. All of the first civilizations eventually contributed enormously to our present world.

Those original Sumerians came on the scene around 4000 B.C. By 3500, there were ample people who had left their sedentary agricultural homes to build cities. Once this occurred, substantial civilization had appeared. Now the weaker citizens, generally women and children, could feel safe and protected. Above all, they were well-fed. And the creative artisans had time to polish their arts and invent new ones. Everyone was contented.

Sure they were!

One of the evidently predictable outcomes of living in cities and producing alluring gewgaws is war. In some places, more or less continuous warfare. Remember how many rebuilds the city of Troy needed? So, I’d like to offer my very own inspiration regarding the manner in which civilization come about, what caused it and how it should have continued. I’ll give you one compelling word. Perfume.

Let me quote a scientist who knows about people and smelling. “Of all the senses, none surely is so mysterious as that of smell . . . the nature of the emanations that stir it to activity is still unknown . . . its effects upon the psyche are both wide and deep, at once obvious and subtle.” Dr. D. McKenzie from Study of Smells.

That’s right. Perfume and the nose are more than likely the motivation for civilization. Think about it. Our unfortunate ancestors had arduous, stinky lives. No soap. No shampoo. No deodorant. Imagine living in a cave in close quarters during the winter. Winters were horrendous and continued for most of the year back then. Ice Age, y’know. Anyway, as soon as the ice retreated, flowers and sweet-smelling herbs returned to envelop the terrain.

I imagine the first to gather the delicate, fragrant buds and put them in their hair and drape them like leis around their necks would have been the women. They probably decorated their odorous children in them too. The men wouldn’t have gotten the message for a long, long time.

There has always been an enormous amount of vegetation on Earth that produces hundreds of delightful bouquets. Biennial herbs, such as angelica, feverfew, and agrimony, used for perfumes, grew abundantly. Fruit tree flowers were a little more difficult to find and gather. But when they were available apple blossoms and apricot kernels exuded wondrous sweet scents. Alpine rose roots were available to our cave dwelling ancestors for fragrant oil. Dried cedar twigs and roots provided oil used in incense. Jasmine, lovage, mignonette all relinquished their leaves, stems and roots to the cause. And roses, bless them, were the simplest perfumers anywhere. Their velvety petals become more aromatic as they dry. And attar of roses is simply rose petals in water. Over time, the women learned how to distill perfume in the same manner the guys had figured out how to brew beer.

As generation after generation progressed, good smelling liquids became more and more important to civilized people. Finally, even the barbarians of Western Europe got wind of them. The Romans had introduced many aromatic plants into Europe when it was still a part of their Empire. Many of these plants were also used for medicines.

From the 800s onward a large trade between Venice and Byzantium grew up, bringing perfumes from Bagdad to Muslim Spain. Arabian perfumery was highly developed. The Persians who used ingredients from China and India, even Africa, taught them the secrets of perfume. Musk and floral perfumes came home with the Crusaders from Arabia to northwestern Europe. The Guild of Pepperers of London whose activities go back to 1179 traded in spices, perfume ingredients and dyes. No peppers were handled apparently. There are records from the times of King Edward the First proving that spices and many aromatic plant materials from exotic places were traded heavily in England.

The European perfumers began to use alcohol in the 12th century. Alcohol-based perfumes were well-known in France at that time. Not until the 14th century did England pick up on this variety of perfume. Instead, the English perfumers extracted essential oils into fats and used the aromatic fat in a perfume fashion. These fats were almost like today’s scented hand creams. Beeswax was also employed in this way. Pot Pourri was set out wet. It began as a residue of the perfume manufacturing process.

You may be asking about now, “What’s the difference between perfume, Eau de Cologne and Eau de Toilet? I’m glad you asked. It’s the percentage of oil content. Eau de Cologne is the lightest, about 2% to 5% oil. But this makes colognes inexpensive and easy to wear. Men like cologne for its lightness. The next is Eau de Toilet. It contains about 10% oil. Parfum rates the highest percentage of oil – from 15-30%. It depends on the scent-maker. Parfum is, of course, the most expensive and the one you would use especially sparingly.

If you think perfume is an unimportant asterisk to history, think again. In 1792 a Carthusian monk gave a young businessman, Willhelm Muehens, an extraordinary wedding gift. It was the recipe for an “aqua mirabilis” a miracle water for internal and external applications. From the beginning, Willhelm had success with the awesome formula. He called his product “Cologne Water” since he had been born, raised and lived in Cologne.

In 1794 during the French occupation, a general in France’s army ordered that every building in Cologne must be numbered consecutively to bring a little order to the helter-skelter streets of the town. One of the French soldiers, without getting down from his horse, painted the number 4711 on the side of the Muehens’s house. Willhelm, with a dry sense of humor, gave his cologne the name 4711.

By 1820 a bottle had been invented for 4711 Cologne. Willhelm took to the invention but he made certain that the bottle’s design would allow expansion of the alcohol-rich liquid. The original Eau de Cologne is still displayed in this bottle 190 years later.

The marvelous Muehens’ House, along with the manufacturing sites, was destroyed in the bombing raids of World War II. But the house was rebuilt and is now one of the most visited and stunning sites in Cologne. It contains a museum, a gallery and a library. The first floor has a room for musical and literary events of the highest standards.

Now, that’s civilization.

Before I set out to write this article I emailed several copies of a perfume survey to mostly family members. In my poll I asked, if they recalled any of about 20 brand names of famous and not-so-famous perfumes and please tell me the ones they used. The names included Evening in Paris, White Shoulders, and Arpège by Lavin, Wind Song and Coty’s Emeraude.

The responses were delightful. A cousin thanked me for the trip down Memory Lane. However, she doesn’t use any kind of scent. This cousin is the same age as my eldest child. Mother responded that she used to wear Wind Song but now she applies Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds. (Mother was always attracted to gem stones.) A sister-in-law prefers White Shoulders. The younger members of the family don’t use scents at all. I am not surprised. You couldn’t call what’s going on in the world today “civilization.”

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About the author Cate Lane: Born in Minnesota and raised a temperate progressive, I was carried off to Texas 10 years ago by the tsunami that was my husband's retirement. Texas is not Minnesota, not by a long shot. However, I hear that Minnesota isn't Minnesota anymore either.

Writing was always my first choice in life. I began writing at the age of 8, small books about pioneers heading west. Little did I know then that I would be living in the most "western" of all the states, Texas. No one told the Texans that they are simply Southerners who, like Bugs Bunny, took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and wound up here.

I am sneaking up on 70 years of age and now own a vast store of useless knowledge. Happy to share any or all of it with you all.

Email: CthlnLn@aol.com

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