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Honey is probably one of the most ancient sweeteners known to us and was probably consumed not only by us <i>Homo sapiens sapiens</i> but also Neanderthals (<i>Homo sapiens neanderthalensis</i>). In fact, very likely honey played a role in the evolution of the human desire and taste for sweet food products. Honey has played an important role not only in food consumption but also in medicine and even embalming in burial. Its prevalence in the New and Old Worlds have also made it widespread in use even in early prehistoric periods.

==Early Use==

The earliest evidence for the use of honey comes from Spain (Figure 1), from about 8-9,0000 years ago. At about 5500 years ago, honey was found in burials in Georgia on ceramics, suggesting they were used as gifts in the afterlife. However, very likely the use of honey goes back to a much earlier period. Neanderthals probably used honey as a food they gathered and even our nearest relatives in the ape family are known to utilize honey. Scientists estimate that the evolution for sweet tastes developed in our ancestors at about 15 million years, long before even apes arose. It is postulated that honey could have been a key factor in the evolution or desire for sweet foods that we have now inherited genetically. The main reason is foods with fructose, where honey contains a lot of this monosaccharides, can be vital in periods when starvation is prevalent. It has high amounts of energy relative to the amount that one needs to consume to survive. In fact, the association of honey as a food for fending off starvation has come down to use in stories in the Bible (e.g., such as John the Baptist eating honey and locusts) and Buddha retreating in the wilderness, where he ate honey brought by a monkey.<ref>For more on the earliest history of honey, see: Crane, E. (1999). <i>The world history of beekeeping and honey hunting.</i> New York: Routledge.</ref>

==Use in Historical Periods==

In the 3rd millennium BCE, both ancient Mesopotamia, in Sumer or modern southern Iraq, and Egypt show evidence of beekeeping having developed. Honey, at this point, was used as an offering for the worship of gods and for food consumption. Beeswax was also utilized for making lost wax products such as metals, candles, sealings, and even as dental filling. The importance of beeswax and honey, in fact, led to the development of beekeeping as an important profession already by the third millennium BCE. Beehives were kept in temples as well as by private beekeepers, who traded honey and beeswax. The Egyptians were known to make clay pots for hives, suggesting by the 3rd millennium BCE artificial hives were now made. The creation of hives also included mud and twigs placed together to replicate more natural-looking beehives. The Hittite law codes mention fines given to those who would steel from beehives, indicating the importance that beehives had to the economy not only for food but also for wax.<ref>For more on early historical texts referencing honey and beekeeping, see Crane (1999) and: Kritsky, G. (2015). <i>The Tears of Re: Beekeeping in Ancient Egypt.</i> New York, NY: Oxford University Press.</ref>

Egyptian sources also indicate the Levant as a land of honey. The Egyptian hero Sinuhe indicates that beehives were being kept in the Levant in the 3rd millennium BCE. This depiction of the Levant as a "land of honey" may have later influenced references to the region in the Bible as a "land of milk and honey." Both in the Egyptian and Biblical references to honey lands that can grow honey are referenced as prosperous. In war campaigns in the region by the Egyptians, they mention taking honey as tribute, indicating the importance of honey as a food product but also, in Egypt, as something used in the embalming process in burials. This is also true in other cultures that embalmed, such as in ancient Georgia. Honey was also sacrificed to the gods in death, where honey jars have been found in Egyptian tombs.<ref>For more on the significance of honey to ancient Near Eastern societies, see: Dalby, A. (2003). <i>Food in the ancient world, from A to Z.</i> London ; New York: Routledge, pg. 179.</ref>