A Cultural History Of Chemistry

Abstract

FIGURES 1.1 Ceiling of the pronaos of the temple of Dendara. Thirty-six decans made of both precious metals and minerals. © Sydney H. Aufrère 1.2 Crypt South no. 1. Temple of Dendara. Statue of the god Harsomtus as a serpent. Caption indicating the size and the nature of the metals and minerals used (Dendara V: 140, 7). © Sydney H. Aufrère 1.3 Names of the temple of Dendara dedicated to the goddess Hathor. Temple of Dendara, northern passage of the hypostyle hall, Ptolemaic period. © Sydney H. Aufrère 1.4 One of the names of the temple of Dendara dedicated to the goddess Hathor: "Mansion-of-Electrum" (Per-en-Djam). © Sydney H. Aufrère 1.5 Cuneiform tablet BM 120960, Middle Babylonian, Tell Umar. © The Trustees of the British Museum 1.6 Late Uruk cylinder seal, 4000-3100 Bce. Photograph by Ashmolean Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images 2.1 Flared cylindrical perfume pots set with a palm leaf. Old Kingdom. Cairo Museum. © Sydney H. Aufrère 2.2 Three foundation tablets from Khorsabad, Assyrian from the reign of Sargon II (721-705 Bce; gold, silver, and copper). © Bridgeman Images 2.3 Vials of kermes and Rubia tinctorum. Photograph © Nicole Reifarth LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 2.4 Archaeological remains of dye in Qatna. Photograph © Nicole Reifarth 2.5 Fluted glass bottle. © The Trustees of the British Museum 3.1 Procession of metals and mineral bearers. Treasure D'. Dendara temple. © Sydney H. Aufrère 3.2 Tinctorium (dyeing workshop), South-East Dendara temple. © Sydney H. Aufrère 3.3 The proto-cuneiform signs representing ovens and kilns: MAH a , AD a , and SIMUG. Drawing by the author, after signs drawn by R.K. EnglundA Cultural History of Chemistry examines the history of chemistry and its wider contexts from antiquity to the present. The series consists of six chronologically defined volumes, each volume comprising nine essays; these fifty-four contributions were written and/or edited by a total of fifty scholars, of ten different nationalities. Of Bloomsbury's many six-volume Cultural Histories currently in print, this is the first in the physical or natural sciences; it is also the first multivolume history of chemistry to appear since James Riddick Partington's four-volume History of Chemistry, concluded more than fifty years ago. It is distinguished, among other qualities, by its endeavor to take the subject from antiquity right to the present day. This is not a conventional history of chemistry, but a first attempt at creating a cultural history of the science. All cultures, including the various branches of natural science, consist of mixed constructs of social, intellectual, and material elements; however, the cultural-historical study of chemistry is still in an early stage of development. We hope that the accounts presented in these volumes will prove useful for students and scholars interested in the subject, and a starting point for those who are striving to create a more fully developed cultural history of chemistry.Each volume has the same structure: starting with an interpretive...