The most primitive sense

By Anonymous -
Smell the Flowers by Kirsten Star

Smell, to me, is the most primitive sense. When most mammals are born, they immediately can recognize their mother’s smell and form an attachment to that smell. Mammals like puppies are almost entirely limited to only the sense of smell until they develop more of their other senses. The sense of smell also becomes the most primitive when considering humans and the phenomenon of perfume. For years, humans hunted certain animals for the purpose of obtaining the musk produced in the anal gland. This musk in small doses can act as an aphrodisiac when put into a perfume even though it has incredibly primitive origins. Though most of Western culture has an aversion to smells considered gross or undesirable, the wealthiest of women are still willing to pay heavy prices to spray a smell once obtained from the anal glands of other animals.

The sense of smell is not something that humans can control and adjust but rather it is only changed by evolution over time. Mammals evolved to be able to identify their mothers from birth because otherwise they would be helpless and ultimately not survive. Evolution has done the same thing for mothers as mammals can differentiate the smell of their offspring from others. This is somewhat shown in humans as well as from most people, the smell of a baby is a unique and almost addictive when described by mothers. Evolution has allowed from the mother’s sense of smell and hormones to crave the smell of her offspring. Human evolution has also proved effective when we consider the effectiveness what smells we find to be attractive or an aphrodisiac. There must be somewhere along the lines of evolution where it proved evolutionary beneficial to find that earthy, natural scent appealing and increase the want to mate in humans.

Though smell has evolved as humans have to allow us to thrive as a species, many of the same instincts that derived from smell have remained. 

(Picture from: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/smell-the-flowers-kirsten-star.html)


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