Abstract
Numerous anthropological reports suggest a close relationship of odors to sexual processes in some human groups. For example, vegetable juices with smells reminiscent of seminal fluid or vaginal secretions have been used as aphrodisiacs in several primitive cultures (Haire, 1940). In a southwest Pacific society studied by Davenport (1965), a form of love magic is based upon the similarity of vaginal odors to those of fish. To attract fish, men of this community use a red ground cherry attached to the leader of a trolling line. After a fish has been caught in this manner, the cherry is believed to have the power to attract women. In some societies, animal secretions from species with marked physical stamina and long, violent heat periods are smeared ritually on sacred objects, as well as on the body. Such practices may form one basis for the widespread modern usage of animal products such as musk, civet and ambergris in perfumery.
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Doty, R.L. (1977). A Review of Recent Psychophysical Studies Examining the Possibility of Chemical Communication of Sex and Reproductive State in Humans. In: Müller-Schwarze, D., Mozell, M.M. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2364-8_15
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