Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers

Mélanie Roffet-Salque, Martine Regert, Richard P. Evershed, Alan K. Outram, Lucy J. E. Cramp, Orestes Decavallas, Julie Dunne, Pascale Gerbault, Simona Mileto, Sigrid Mirabaud, Mirva Pääkkönen, Jessica Smyth, Lucija Šoberl and Helen L. Whelton
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Mélanie Roffet-Salque: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Martine Regert: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Richard P. Evershed: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Alan K. Outram: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Lucy J. E. Cramp: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Orestes Decavallas: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Julie Dunne: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Pascale Gerbault: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Simona Mileto: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Sigrid Mirabaud: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Mirva Pääkkönen: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Jessica Smyth: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Lucija Šoberl: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close
Helen L. Whelton: Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close

Nature, 2016, vol. 534, issue 7607, S17-S18

Abstract: Abstract The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of ancient Egyptian bee iconography dating to the Old Kingdom (approximately 2400 BC). There are also indications of Stone Age people harvesting bee products; for example, honey hunting is interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect's biochemistry. Thus, the chemical 'fingerprint' of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/nature18451

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