how did people bathe before soap was discovered?

Question

how did peple wash their clothes before soap?
how did sap get its name?
thank you

Answer 1

In Ancient Times, everybody seems to have used soap, except the Romans. In fact the word "soap" was loaned by them from the Gauls or the Germans.

"The earliest known evidence of soap use are Babylonian clay cylinders dating from 2800 BC containing a soap-like substance. A formula for soap consisting of water, alkali and cassia oil was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC."

"The Ebers papyrus (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soap-like substance. Egyptian documents mention that a soap-like substance was used in the preparation of wool for weaving."

"The ancient Romans were generally ignorant of soap's detergent properties, and made use of the "strigil" to scrape dirt and sweat from the body. The word "soap" appears first in a European language in Pliny the Elder's "Historia Naturalis", which discusses the manufacture of soap from tallow and ashes, but the only use he mentions for it is as a pomade for hair; he mentions rather disapprovingly that among the Gauls and Germans men are likelier to use it than women."

"In fact, the Latin word "sapo" simply means "soap"; it was borrowed from a Celtic or Germanic language, and is cognate with Latin "sebum", "tallow", which appears in Pliny the Elder's account."

"The Arabs made soap from vegetable oil such as olive oil and some aromatic oils such as thyme oil. Sodium Lye (Al-Soda Al-Kawia) was used for the first time, and the formula hasn't changed from the current soap sold in the market."

"Soap" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap

"O.E. sape "soap" (originally a reddish hair dye used by Gmc. warriors to give a frightening appearance), from W.Gmc. *saipo- "dripping thing, resin" (cf. M.L.G. sepe, W.Fris. sjippe, Du. zeep, O.H.G. seiffa, Ger. seife "soap," O.H.G. seifar "foam," O.E. sipian "to drip"), from PIE base *seib- "to pour out, drip, trickle" (cf. L. sebum "tallow, suet, grease"). Romans and Greeks used oil to clean skin; the Romance language words for "soap" (cf. It. sapone, Fr. savon, Sp. jabon) are from L.L. sapo (first mentioned in Pliny), which is a Gmc. loan-word, as is Finnish saippio."

"soap", Online Etymology Dictionary : http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=soap&searchmode=none

Answer 2

People used animal milk as a fragranced form of cleanser if they weren't poor, and most normally just washed themselves in rivers.

Clothing was rinsed in the river as well, and beaten against rocks to remove caked on dirt. Majority of people only bathed once or twice a year.

In africa, women are not permitted to wash at all even now in the tribes. They rub their body in goats fat with red ochre to look more attractive.

Answer 3

People used to bath with the sand in the river. Actually, comparing to soap, sand is very useful for skin as it get nourished. We think that the sand is rough but it isn't.

Answer 4

In many cultures at different times it was thought only the 'dirty' needed to bathe, it was a sign of class that you didn't need to wash.
Elizabeth I of England was said to have bathed once a month 'whether she needed to or not'.

'sape' Old English from West Germanic

Answer 5

I think they bathed with pumice.

They beat their clothes on rocks in the river to wash them.

I dont know how sap got its name.

Pax - C

Answer 6

The earliest known evidence of soap use are Babylonian clay cylinders dating from 2800 BC containing a soap-like substance. A formula for soap consisting of water, alkali and cassia oil was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC.

The Ebers papyrus (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soap-like substance. Egyptian documents mention that a soap-like substance was used in the preparation of wool for weaving.

It is commonly reported that a soap factory with bars of scented soap was found in the ruins of Pompeii (79 AD). However, this has proved to be a misinterpretation of the survival of some soapy mineral substance,[citation needed] probably soapstone at the Fullonica where it was used for dressing recently cleansed textiles. Unfortunately this error has been repeated widely and can be found in otherwise reputable texts on soap history. The ancient Romans were generally ignorant of soap's detergent properties, and made use of the strigil to scrape dirt and sweat from the body. The word "soap" appears first in a European language in Pliny the Elder's Historia Naturalis, which discusses the manufacture of soap from tallow and ashes, but the only use he mentions for it is as a pomade for hair; he mentions rather disapprovingly that among the Gauls and Germans men are likelier to use it than women [1]

The Arabs made soap from vegetable oil such as olive oil and some aromatic oils such as thyme oil. Sodium Lye (Al-Soda Al-Kawia) was used for the first time, and the formula hasn't changed from the current soap sold in the market. From the beginning of the 7th century, soap was produced in Nablus (Palestine), Kufa (Iraq) and Basra (Iraq). Soaps, as we know them today, are descendants of historical Arabian Soaps. Arabian Soap was perfumed and colored, some of the soaps were liquid and others were hard. They also had special soap for shaving. It was commercially sold for 3 Dirhams (0.3 Dinars) a piece in 981 AD. Al-Razi’s manuscript contains recipes for soap. A recently discovered manuscript from the 13th century details more recipes for soap making; e.g. take some sesame oil, a sprinkle of potash, alkali and some lime, mix them all together and boil. When cooked, they are poured into molds and left to set, leaving hard soap.

A story encountered in some places claims that soap takes its name from a supposed "Mount Sapo" where ancient Romans sacrificed animals. Rain would send a mix of animal tallow and wood ash down the mountain and into the clay soil on the banks of the Tiber. Eventually, women noticed that it was easier to clean clothes with this "soap". The location of Mount Sapo is unknown, as is the source of the "ancient Roman legend" to which this tale is typically credited.[2] In fact, the Latin word sapo simply means "soap"; it was borrowed from a Celtic or Germanic language, and is cognate with Latin sebum, "tallow", which appears in Pliny the Elder's account. Roman animal sacrifices usually burned only the bones and inedible entrails of the sacrificed animals; edible meat and fat from the sacrifices were taken by the humans rather than the gods. Animal sacrifices in the ancient world would not have included enough fat to make much soap. The legend about Mount Sapo is probably apocryphal.

Historically, soap was made by mixing animal fats with lye. Because of the caustic lye, this was a dangerous procedure (perhaps more dangerous than any present-day home activities) which could result in serious chemical burns or even blindness. Before commercially-produced lye was commonplace, it was produced at home for soap making from the ashes of a wood fire.

Castile soap was produced in Europe as early as the 16th century.

In modern times, the use of soap has become universal in industrialized nations due to a better understanding of the role of hygiene in reducing the population size of pathogenic microorganisms. Manufactured bar soaps first became available in the late nineteenth century, and advertising campaigns in Europe and the United States helped to increase popular awareness of the relationship between cleanliness and health. By the 1950s, soap had gained public acceptance as an instrument of personal hygiene.

Rarely, conditions allow for corpses to naturally turn in to a soap like substance, such as the Soap Lady on exhibit in the Mutter Museum.
These plants are purported to contain saponins in sufficient quantities to produce lather (when mashed plant parts are beaten in water) and can be used in either soap or shampoos:[1]

The soap plant group (amole root, soap plant root, soaproot bulb)
Guaiac leaves
Papaya leaves
Quillaia bark
Red campion root and leaves
Atriplex root
Sapindus fruit
Soap pod fruit (various acacias)
Mojave yucca root
Soapwort root
Our Lord's Candle root
Wild gourd fruit (Cucurbita foetidissima[?])

Answer 7

limestone