Lost Scents

"Plastic" vases, or small vases molded in the shape of animals, mythological creatures, or human busts and body parts, dating from the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. have been found throughout the Mediterranean. Scholars assumed that these held ancient perfumes. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia used gas chromatography linked with mass spectrometry to analyze 24 vases to determine their original contents. This publication provides the archaeological and historical background, and summarizes the findings of their investigation.