By STEVE HATHCOCK
The use of soap dates back to the Old Testament… Jeremiah 2:22 and Malachi 3:2 mention the use of a soap made from tree bark ashes.
There are many theories about how soap was “invented,” but soap has probably been used in some form or another as far back as prehistoric times, but not quite in the same form as we know it today.
In early times, as well as now, a soap-like substance was extracted from plants such as soapwort, soap root, soap bark, yucca, horsetail, fuchsia leaves, bouncing bet, and agave (whose sap is also used in making tequila and other alcoholic drinks). Plants such as these are often found flourishing on riverbanks or near lakes, so they would have been at hand during bathing.
Clay tablets dating back to 2500 BC (found near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq) describe a soap-like substance of water, alkali and scented oils used to dress one’s hair or treat open wounds.
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