seasons and zodiacal signs were simultaneously indicated by a 
succession of carefully ordered scents. The sense of smell, long 
considered the root of memory and the unifying basis of 
individuality, has come to the fore again in the experiments of 
Wilder Penfield. During brain surgery, electric probing of brain 
tissue revived many memories of the patients. These 
evocations were dominated and unified by unique scents and 
odors that structured these past experiences. The sense of 
smell is not only the most subtle and delicate of the human 
senses; it is, also, the most iconic in that it involves the entire 
human sensorium more fully than any other sense. It is not 
surprising, therefore, that highly literate societies take steps to 
reduce or eliminate odors from the environment. B.O., the 
unique signature and declaration of human individuality, is a 
bad word in literate societies. It is far too involving for our 
habits of detachment and specialist attention. Societies that