In 340BC Aristotle proposed that all matter was made of composed of earth, wind, fire and water. Alchemy in the 1500’s – 1700’s involved trial and error, serendipity, big claims with little returns like gold and universal solvent. Distillation and recrystallization were discovered during this time. 14 basic elements were identified (S, Hg, C, Fe, Pb, Cu, Sn, Ag, Au, P, As, Sb, Bi, Zn) without understanding what elements were. Jan Baptista van Helmont was one of the first scientists to introduce the experimental method in chemistry, including forming hypotheses, conducting experiments, and reviewing results. He also discovered the existence of gases, the dissolution and reclamation of metals in acid, and used water's boiling and freezing points as temperature standards.