There were a lot of events that happened long ago that were never written down so there is no record, thus no “history” about it.
The older I get the more I realize that there is more that is unknown than is known. Which is good because I’ve forgotten a lot of stuff...
There is a mistake in the article referring to 2nd century BC. They should have said 12th century BC. This was the time of the “Sea People” who may have been Myceneans. They mention Jason of the Golden Fleece, who probably traveled to the far east of the Black Sea. These myths were written about by Homer. Colchis was there and may have been visited by envoy’s of Sesostris II (Egypt)around 1900 BC. I believe there are written records about that. Colchicine is a product of crocuses found in that area and has medicinal properties. Paintings from Santorini/Akrotiri which experienced a great volcanic eruption around 1600 BC show these “sacred?” crocuses. So actually although there are gaps, there are also written and artistic records of use.