Editing Incense (section)

==History==
{{Cite check section |date=April 2021}}
The word ''incense'' comes from [[Latin]] {{lang|la|incendere}} pronunciation: /inˈt͡ʃɛn.de.re/ meaning 'to burn'.
[[File:Qustul Incense Burner, Qustal, Nubia, Cemetery L, tomb 24, A-Group, 3200-3000 BC, limestone - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC08007.JPG|thumb|Qustul Incense Burner, Nubia, Cemetery L, tomb 24, A-Group, 3200-3000 BC, limestone - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago]]
Archaeological discoveries at [[Qustul]], a site in Lower [[Nubia]] in [[Sudan]] have revealed one of the earliest known incense burners, dating to the [[A-Group culture]] around 3000 BCE predating early dynastic Egypt.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=G. |first=K. |last2=Williams |first2=Bruce Beyer |title=New Kingdom Remains from Cemeteries R, V, and W at Qustul and Cemetery K at Adindan |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/605213 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=116 |issue=3 |pages=594 |doi=10.2307/605213 |issn=0003-0279 |via=}}</ref> The [[Qustul]] incense burner, made of ceramic and adorned with iconography such as processions and what some scholars interpret as royal emblems, suggests that incense and its ritual use were already well-developed in Nubian spiritual and political life.<ref>{{Citation |last=Trigger |first=B. G. |title=The rise of Egyptian civilization |date=1983-09-22 |work=Ancient Egypt |pages=1–70 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511607868.002 |access-date=2025-05-31 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-28427-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Trigger |first=Bruce G. |last2=Welsby |first2=Derek A. |date=2000 |title=The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/220314 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=212 |doi=10.2307/220314 |issn=0361-7882}}</ref> 

[[File:Egyptian - Egyptian Incense Burner - Walters 54498 - Side.jpg|thumb|Egyptian incense burner, 7th century BCE]]
In [[Ancient Egypt]], combustible bouquets were used and employed incense in both pragmatic and mystical capacities. Incense was burnt to counteract or obscure malodorous products of human habitation, but was widely perceived to also deter malevolent demons and appease the [[Egyptian pantheon|gods]] with its pleasant aroma.<ref name=Aromatherapy/> Resin balls were found in many [[prehistoric Egypt]]ian tombs in El Mahasna, giving evidence for the prominence of incense and related compounds in Egyptian antiquity.<ref name="Nielsen 3">{{cite book |last=Nielsen |first=Kjeld |title=Incense in Ancient Israel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PEIkR5_R3wEC&q=history+of+incense&pg=PA3 |page=3 |isbn=978-9004077027 |year=1986|publisher=BRILL }}</ref> One of the oldest extant incense burners originates from the [[Fifth dynasty of Egypt|5th dynasty]].<ref name="Nielsen 3"/> The Temple of Deir-el-Bahari in Egypt contains a series of carvings that depict an expedition for incense.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stoddart |first=D. Michael |title=The Scented Ape: The Biology and Culture of Human Odour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYBux6MdmbIC |year=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-37511-5 |page=171}}</ref>

The Babylonians used incense while offering prayers to divine<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-15 |title=Catholic Incense, Rituals, and Using Incense In Your Own Home! |url=http://incensecandlesadvice.blogspot.com/2016/09/catholic-incense-rituals-and-using.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510134328/http://incensecandlesadvice.blogspot.com/2016/09/catholic-incense-rituals-and-using.html |archive-date=May 10, 2017 |website=Natural Incense and Candles DIY Tips! |publisher=Blogger}}</ref> [[oracle]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-PsUAAAAIAAJ&q=Babylonians+used+incense&pg=PA16 |title=Foreign Trade in the Old Babylonian Period: As Revealed by Texts from Southern Mesopotamia |first1=W. F. |last1=Leemans  |publisher=Brill Archive |year=1960}}</ref> Incense spread from there to Greece and Rome.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-02 |title=Incense {{!}} Aromatherapy, Meditation & Rituals |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/incense |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=Britannica  |language=en}}</ref> Incense burners have been found in the [[Indus Civilization]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tpc7FjVk0BMC&q=ancient+India+%27incense+sellers%27&pg=PA69 |title=Mohenjo Daro And The Indus Civilization 3 Vols |author=John Marshall |publisher=Asian Educational Services |year=1996 |isbn=978-81-206-1179-5}}</ref> Evidence suggests oils were used mainly for their aroma. This was the first usage of subterranean plant parts in incense.<ref name="stodda169" />

The oldest textual source on incense is the [[Vedas]], specifically the [[Atharvaveda]] and the [[Rigveda]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=López-Sampson |first1=Arlene |last2=Page |first2=Tony |date=2018-03-01 |title=History of Use and Trade of Agarwood |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-018-9408-4 |journal=Economic Botany |language=en |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=107–129 |doi=10.1007/s12231-018-9408-4 |s2cid=255560778 |issn=1874-9364}}</ref> Incense-burning was used to create pleasing aromas as well as a medicinal tool. Its use in medicine is considered the first phase of [[Ayurveda]], which uses incense as an approach to healing.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Jennifer |first1=Rhind |title=Fragrance and Wellbeing; Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche |date=21 October 2013 |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |isbn=9780857010735 |page=167|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LamNAQAAQBAJ |access-date=21 October 2013}}</ref> The practice of incense as a healing tool was assimilated into the religious practices of the time. As Hinduism matured and Buddhism was founded in India, incense became an integral part of Buddhism as well. Around 200&nbsp;CE, a group of wandering Buddhist monks introduced incense stick making to China.<ref name=":0" /> Some incense, depending on the contents, may also act as organic insect repellent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kwon |first1=Young-Suk |last2=Lee |first2=Kyung-Hee |date=2006 |title=A Review on Ancient Literatures of Anti-insect Incense |url=https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO200618317233951.page |journal=The Research Journal of the Costume Culture |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=802–812 |issn=1226-0401}}</ref>

At around 2000&nbsp;BCE, [[Ancient China]] began the use of incense in the religious sense, namely for worship.<ref>Herrera, Matthew D. (2012). ''[http://www.smellsbells.com/incense.pdf Holy Smoke: The Use of Incense in the Catholic Church] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912022346/http://www.smellsbells.com/incense.pdf |date=2012-09-12 }}'' (2nd ed.). San Luis Obispo: Tixlini Scriptorium. Page 1.</ref> Incense was used by Chinese cultures from Neolithic times and became more widespread in the [[Xia dynasty|Xia]], [[Shang dynasty|Shang]], and [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] dynasties.<ref>{{cite web |trans-title=Shang Xiang Si tak |url=http://www.incenseart.org.tw |title=官方網站 |language=zh |publisher=中華東方香學研究會 [Chinese Incense Art Association] |website=Incenseart.org.tw |access-date=2016-07-20 |archive-date=2020-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818112630/http://www.incenseart.org.tw/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The earliest documented use of incense comes from the ancient Chinese, who employed incense composed of herbs and plant products (such as [[senna obtusifolia|cassia]], [[cinnamon]], [[styrax]], and [[sandalwood]]) as a component of numerous formalized ceremonial rites.<ref name=stodda169>{{cite book |last=Stoddart |first=D. Michael |title=The scented ape: The biology and culture of human odour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYBux6MdmbIC&pg=PA169 |year=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-37511-5 |page=169}}</ref>  Incense usage reached its peak during the [[Song dynasty]], with numerous buildings erected specifically for incense ceremonies.

Brought to Japan in the 6th century by Korean [[Bhikkhu|Buddhist monks]], who used the mystical aromas in their purification rites, the delicate scents of Koh (high-quality Japanese incense) became a source of amusement and entertainment for nobles in the Imperial Court during the [[Heian period|Heian Era]] 200 years later. During the 14th-century [[Ashikaga shogunate]], a [[samurai]] warrior might perfume his helmet and armor with incense to achieve an aura of invincibility (as well as to make a noble gesture to whoever might take his head in battle). It was not until the [[Muromachi period]] during the 15th and 16th century that incense appreciation ({{lang|ja-Latn|[[Japanese incense#Kōdō|kōdō]]}}, {{lang|ja|{{Ruby line|香: こう||道: どう}}}}) spread to the upper and middle classes of Japanese society.