Bees & Humans Have History

Bees and honey may feel ordinary to us because they’ve always been there. Yet, the relationship between bees and humans is nothing short of extraordinary. Their journey from prehistoric pollinators to modern apiaries and large scale honey production spans almost 10,000 years. To help you appreciate the significance of this relationship, this blog explores the beginnings of human use of honey and beekeeping that paved the way for Kitako Lake Honey in Saskatchewan.

FARMS NEED BEES

In many ways, our food story begins with bees. Bees evolved alongside flowering plants more than 100 million years ago, shaping the landscapes and food systems we still rely on today. They laid ecological groundwork for early agriculture to begin. They were already doing the quiet work of pollination long before humans began planting crops or keeping livestock. Many early food plants (think fruits, seeds, nuts) depend on insect pollination and might not have existed, nor had the opportunity to become domesticated by humans if it weren’t for pollinators.

PREHISTORIC HONEY AND HUMANS

A famous rock painting in what is now Spain shows a person climbing a tree to gather honey nearly 7,000 years ago, suggesting humans had already valued honey long before they learned how to keep bees, which probably happened a few thousand years later. Harvesting wild honey was a dangerous and arduous task. People regularly risked their lives for the stuff! 

The earliest clear evidence of organized beekeeping comes from Ancient Egypt over 4 thousand years ago, around 2400 BCE, which would have been the shift from risky wild honey hunting to established apiaries—managed hives with predictable harvests.

OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS LOVED PURE HONEY

Ancient Egypt had an especially close relationship with bees and honey. They used honey as currency, religious offerings, wound care, and in cosmetics. It was believed to be the tears of the sun god Ra and was placed in royal tombs to sustain the pharaoh in the afterlife. When archaeologists opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, they found jars of honey more than 3,000 years old. Remarkably, the honey was perfectly preserved and still edible, due to its low moisture, high acidity, and natural antibacterial properties that make it impossible for bacteria to survive in the honey. It’s no wonder the Egyptians used it as a symbolic offering for the afterlife. 

Ancient Egyptians also used bee propolis in embalming practices. We can see how bees use propolis in a similar way today—sometimes even sealing intruders they can’t remove from the hive, preserving them instead of allowing rot to spread. If you’re wondering what bee propolis is and how bees and humans use it, check out our blog 4 Beehive Products Explained.

A RICH HISTORY OF RAW LOCAL HONEY AROUND THE WORLD

Ancient Egypt weren’t the only ones who loved honey. It was valued across many early civilizations independently and across oceans or continents from one another. Long before sugar existed, honey was widely recognized as both nourishment and medicine almost anywhere wild bees lived on the planet:

• In Ancient Greece, it was sacred and was used for food, medicine, and athletic energy, while Hippocrates prescribed it for wounds and illness.

• Across North America, many Indigenous peoples including the Anishinaabe, Cree, and Haida, foraged for wild honey and wax for food and healing. 

• In China, honey appeared in traditional medicine texts over 2,000 years ago and was used to preserve herbs and support digestion and longevity.

• In India, Ayurvedic traditions described honey (“madhu”) as one of the five elixirs of immortality and used it for healing and ritual.

• Ancient Mesopotamians and Romans relied on honey as their primary sweetener and medicine.

• Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya kept stingless bees for honey used in ceremonies and fermented drinks.

FROM ANCIENT HONEY GATHERING TO MODERN BEEKEEPING IN SASKATCHEWAN

What’s changed over thousands of years isn’t the bees, it’s us. Bees still build comb, gather nectar, and make honey exactly as they always have. The difference now is that humans no longer have to climb trees or risk stings to find it. Beekeeping has turned honey hunting into stewardship, carrying forward one of the oldest partnerships in human history. Taste it all in one little jar of golden goodness. Find a retailer near you or visit our online store.