Archaeologist Gabriele Franke of Goethe University, who inspects Nok vessels at the Janjala Research Station in Nigeria. Franke is the co-author of a new paper on honey collection in prehistoric West Africa. Image by Peter Breunig / University of Bristol.
Terracotta pottery pieces unearthed in excavation sites in central Nigeria – some 3,500 years old – bear direct evidence that the vessels once contained honey, the oldest sweetener in mankind. Residue analyzes found in the shards show compounds found in beeswax, suggesting that the wax combs could have been heated in pots to separate the honey. This new knowledge is an interesting discovery in the world of archeology. Direct evidence from sub-Saharan Africa – related to bees and beekeeping – has been lacking so far.
The new findings were published on April 14, 2021, in the peer-reviewed journal Communications about nature.
A map showing the ancient Nok territory of present-day Nigeria. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Pottery is associated with the Nok culture, a civilization that first appeared in 1,500 BC. and lasted about 1,500 years. Nok were known for their terracotta sculptures, which were the oldest known figurine art in Africa. The Nok culture was present at a time and place where the first farmers and foragers coexisted. But it is not known, for example, whether humans in the Nok culture domesticated animals or whether they were primarily hunters. Archaeologists have studied Nok figurines and other artifacts to learn more about this early culture. This includes identifying the foods they have eaten.
Nok terracotta figurines. Image by Goethe University / University of Bristol.
In archeological sites, scientists look for food scraps to learn about feeding, hunting and farming practices. For example, the bones of animals in the soil provide valuable clues. But in central Nigeria, acidic soil does not preserve animal remains. So the scientists turned their attention to the shards of pottery, over 450 pieces, performing chemical analyzes to look for food residues trapped in the porous terracotta.
Scientists were surprised to find that about a third of the pottery pieces contain complex lipids found in beeswax. The beeswax could have been trapped in the terracotta pores of the vessels when it melted during heating or was absorbed into the pottery during honeycomb storage. The stable lipids of beeswax have then been preserved for thousands of years. A chemical analysis technique called gas chromatography was used to identify lipid compounds as derived from beeswax.
Julie Dunne of 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, provided the first information about the honey hunt in West Africa 3,500 years ago.
See my blog in @NatureEcoEvo ours @NatureComms Honey hunt in West Africa 3500 years ago paper #lipide # bees #Honey #Sufficient #Nigeriahttps://t.co/urkVLhXGQh
– Dr. Julie Dunne (@thepotlady) April 15, 2021
It is difficult to know for sure how the honey was used by the old Nok. Most likely they heated the honeycombs in the pots to separate the honey from it. Maybe the honey was processed with other foods. It is even possible that the vessels are used to make mead. Beeswax can be used medicinally, as a cosmetic or for other practical applications, such as creating a sealing material or adhesive. The pottery itself could have been used to house hives, as is done today by some traditional African societies.
Bees and their association with honey have been featured 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 hive. There are over 4,000 documented cases of prehistoric rock art with bees and honey in Africa. According to the records kept by the ancient Egyptians, beekeeping has been practiced since 2,600 BC. But until now, little was known directly about honey collection in sub-Saharan Africa. Richard Evershed, also from the University of Bristol and co-author of the paper, commented in the statement:
The association of prehistoric people with the 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, when all other sources of evidence are lacking.
Excavation at a Nok site in Ifana, Nigeria. Image by Peter Breunig / University of Bristol.
Conclusion: The oldest direct evidence of honey collection in sub-Saharan Africa, 3,500 years ago, was announced by scientists who found beeswax residues in ancient terracotta pottery associated with the Nok culture in central Nigeria.
Source: Honey collection in prehistoric West Africa 3500 years ago
Read “Behind the Paper” from its lead author Julie Dunne
Via the University of Bristol
Via Goethe University
