before inoculation and vaccination, variolation was commonly used, at least since the year 1022 AD in a buddhist temple in sichuan named "o mei shan". variolation used a pole to blow ACTUAL SMALLPOX VIRUS PARTICLES into someones nostrils. with the advent of edward jenners smallpox vaccine, england outlawed the practice in 1840.
source: https://youtu.be/yqUFy-t4MlQ?feature=shared