Goethe University archaeologist Gabriele Franke inspects Nok ships at the Janjala research station in Nigeria. Franke is co-author of a new article on honey collecting in prehistoric West Africa. Image via Peter Breunig / University of Bristol.
Pieces of terracotta pottery excavated at excavations in central Nigeria – some as old as 3,500 years – contain direct evidence that the ships once contained honey, mankind’s oldest sweetener. Analyzes of residue in the shards reveal compounds found in beeswax, suggesting that waxy combs in the barrels may have been heated to separate the honey. This new knowledge is an exciting discovery in the world of archeology. Direct evidence from sub-Saharan Africa – related to bees and apiculture – has so far been lacking.
The new findings were published April 14, 2021 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications
A map showing the old Nok area in modern day Nigeria. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
The pottery is associated with the Nok culture, a civilization that first emerged in 1500 BC and lasted about 1500 years. The Nok were known for their elaborate terracotta sculptures which were the oldest known figurative art in Africa. The Nok culture was present at a time and place where early farmers and collectors coexisted. But it is not known, for example, whether people of the Nok culture had domesticated animals, or whether they were mainly hunters instead. Archaeologists have studied Nok figurines and other artifacts to learn more about this early culture. That includes identifying the foods they ate.
Ridge terracotta figurines. Image via Goethe University / University of Bristol.
At archaeological sites, scientists search for food scraps to learn about foraging, hunting, and farming practices. Animal bones in the soil, for example, provide valuable clues. But at the sites in central Nigeria, animal remains are not kept in the acidic soil. So the scientists turned their attention to pottery shards, more than 450 pieces, and performed chemical analyzes to look for food scraps trapped in the porous terracotta.
The scientists were surprised to find that about a third of the pottery pieces contained complex lipids found in beeswax. The beeswax may have been trapped in the terracotta pores of the barrels when it melted during heating, or incorporated into the pottery during storage of the honeycombs. Stable lipids in the beeswax were then preserved for thousands of years. A chemical analysis technique called gas chromatography was used to identify the lipid compounds as derived from beeswax.
Julie Dunne from the University of Bristol is the lead author of the new paper. She said in a statement:
This is a remarkable example of how biomolecular information extracted from prehistoric pottery, combined with ethnographic data, has provided the first insights into the ancient honey hunt in West Africa 3,500 years ago.
Check out my blog in @RTLnews to our @RTLnews honey hunt in West Africa 3,500 years ago paper #lipids #bees #Honey #Enough #Nigeriahttps://t.co/urkVLhXGQh
– Dr Julie Dunne (@thepotlady) April 15, 2021
It is difficult to know for sure how honey was used by the ancient Nok. They most likely heated the combs in the jars to separate the honey in them. Maybe the honey has been processed with other foods. It is even possible that the barrels were used to make mead. Beeswax can be used medicinally, as a cosmetic or for other practical uses such as making a sealant or adhesive. The pottery itself could have been used to house beehives, as is done today by some traditional societies in Africa.
Bees and their association with honey can be seen in prehistoric petroglyphs and paintings. For example, an 8,000-year-old cave painting in Valencia, Spain, shows a man collecting honey from a wild beehive. There are over 4,000 documented examples of prehistoric petroglyphs depicting bees and honey in Africa. According to records kept by ancient Egyptians, beekeeping was practiced as early as 2600 BC. But until now, little was directly known about honey collection in sub-Saharan Africa. Richard Evershed, also from Bristol University and co-author of the paper, noted in the statement:
The association of prehistoric humans with the honey bee is a recurring theme in the ancient world; however, the discovery of the chemical components of beeswax in the pottery of the Nok people provides a unique window into this relationship, while all other sources of evidence are lacking.
Excavation at a Nok site in Ifana, Nigeria. Image via Peter Breunig / University of Bristol.
In short, the first direct evidence of honey collection in sub-Saharan Africa, 3,500 years ago, was announced by scientists who found remains of beeswax in ancient terracotta pottery related to the Nok culture of central Nigeria.
Source: Honey collection in prehistoric West Africa 3,500 years ago
Read “Behind the Paper” by lead author Julie Dunne
Via the University of Bristol
Via Goethe University
