How were aromatics used in pre-Islamic Arabian religious rituals?

In pre-Islamic Arabian religious practices, aromatics—most notably frankincense—played a vital role as a precious offering in the cult of the gods and in rites concerning the dead.1

The Hadramawt region of South Arabia was the primary source for the highest quality frankincense, which was highly valued throughout the Middle East. This aromatic resin was harvested from trees of the genus Boswellia by making incisions in the trunks, allowing the sap to exude and harden.12

These substances were central to the religious and economic life of ancient South Arabian civilizations, such as the Sabaeans and Minaeans. Merchants transported these aromatics along established caravan routes that connected the southern oases to the Hejaz, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. While the specific liturgical mechanics of how these were burned in every pre-Islamic shrine are less documented than in other ancient cultures, the use of such aromatics was fundamentally tied to the veneration of the divine and the honoring of the deceased.1