Historical use of oil
The use of crude oil dates back to prehistoric times. According to the Bible, God said to Noah, “Make an ark of resinous wood and cover it with pitch inside and out.” Noah’s ark was completely covered in pitch.
In the Bible, they refer to it as bitumen or asphalt. In Genesis 11:3 they mention asphalt as glue from the Tower of Babel and in Genesis 4:10 it is described how the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated by falling into an asphalt pit in the Valley of Siddim.
In Babylon, in the year 1200 BC, mineral oil lamps were used. Then the wick made of flax, rush marrow and certain leaves was discovered. The Romans called the emanations near the Dead Sea lacus asfaltitus . The Egyptians called it mumiya, which translates as bitumen for embalming. Likewise, the Persians used the name mum; the pre-Columbian Mexican Indians, chapopoteras; and the Incas, copey. A long time later, the colonists of the United States knew it as seepages.
The Chinese, for centuries used petroleum gas for cooking and lighting. In America, pre-Columbian societies used pitch to waterproof their fishing gear and ropes, in addition to “caulking” their rafts and the Greeks used it for war purposes.
