[Sean] Coughlin likens his experiments to the testing process of the cooking show “America’s Test Kitchen.” While the results have been hit-and-miss, he said they are making progress.

For example, one perfume recipe Coughlin studied known as Mendesian indicated that ancient perfumers heated oil for 10 days and 10 nights before infusing it with woods like cinnamon and resins like myrrh.

— Read more in How scientists are decoding what the past smelled like at CNN.