Prehistory Archaeological evidence indicates that the use of medicinal plants dates back to the
Paleolithic age.
4th millennium BCE In ancient Egypt, herbs are mentioned in
Egyptian medical papyri, depicted in tomb illustrations, or on rare occasions found in medical jars containing trace amounts of herbs. Medical recipes from 4000 BCE were for liquid preparations rather than solids. In the 4th millennium BCE,
Soma (drink) and
Haoma are named, but is not clear what ingredients were used to prepare them.
3rd millennium BCE 2nd millennium BCE Written around 1600 BCE, the
Edwin Smith Papyrus describes the use of many herbal drugs. The
Ebers Papyrus – one of the most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt – was written around 1550 BCE, and covers more than 700 drugs, mainly of plant origin. The first references to
pills were found on papyri in ancient Egypt, and contained bread dough, honey, or grease. Medicinal ingredients such as plant powders or spices were mixed in and formed by hand to make little balls, or pills.
1st millennium BCE In
Greece,
Theophrastus of Eresos wrote
Historia Plantarum in the 4th century BCE
. Seeds likely used for herbalism have been found in archaeological sites of
Bronze Age China dating from the
Shang dynasty (c. 1600 BCE–c. 1046 BCE). Over a hundred of the 224 drugs mentioned in the
Huangdi Neijing – an early Chinese medical text – are herbs. Herbs also commonly featured in the medicine of ancient India, where the principal treatment for diseases was diet. Opioids are among the world's oldest known drugs. Use of the opium poppy for medical, recreational, and religious purposes can be traced to the 4th century BCE, when Hippocrates wrote about it for its analgesic properties, stating, "Divinum opus est sedare dolores." ("
Divine work is the easing of pain")
1st century CE In ancient Greece, pills were known as ("something to be swallowed").
Pliny the Elder, who lived from 23 to 79 CE, first gave a name to what we now call pills, calling them . Pliny also wrote
Naturalis Historia a collection of 38 books and the first
pharmacopoea.
Pedanius Dioscorides wrote
De Materia Medica (c. 40 – 90 CE); this book dominated the area of drug knowledge for some 1500 years until the 1600s.{{cite book |title=The Classical Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbqF8z2bq3sC&pg=PA146 |year=2010 |publisher=Harvard University Press
Jojoba was used in the 1st millennium CE.
2nd century CE Aelius Galenus wrote more than
11 books about drugs, also use
terra sigillata with
kaolinite and goats blood to produce tablets. ==Post-classical to Early modern ==