Any chef would tell you yes.

In general, this question is hard to answer because depending on who you ask, I think it could be debated whether or not any art form is "popular" or "essential" - not to mention what constitutes a society for the purposes of the question.

That said, I've attended a scent gallery (in Madrid, about fifteen years ago; I have no idea if it's still there), so at least someone thinks scent and odor can constitute "pure" art (that is, not as a byproduct or associate of another process, the way cooking smells are).

Sorry, we don't allow throughout history questions. These tend to produce threads which are collections of trivia, not the in-depth discussions about a particular topic we're looking for. If you have a specific question about a historical event or period or person, please feel free to re-compose your question and submit it again.