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[[File:Cueva arana.jpeg|thumbnail|225px|left|Figure 1. One of the earliest depictions of honey collection from a cave in Spain.]]

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>

[[File:Jan-van-der-Straet Bauerlicher-Bienenstand.png|thumbnail|left|275px|Figure 2. Scene of beehive collection for extracting honey from the 16th century.]]