Stories, Archaeology and Narratives: Archaeology of the relationship between humans and bees from the Neolithic to Late Antiquity

Humans have long had, often unknowingly, nature’s greatest ally: the bee. Since its appearance on Earth nearly 100 million years ago, it has been primarily responsible—along with other pollinating agents—for enabling the development, diversification, and survival of a complex and remarkable system of mutual dependencies that we today simply call nature.

The author retraces the history, and partly the prehistory, of the human–bee relationship, seeking archaeological evidence and comparing it with written sources. The aim is to shed light on a lesser-known aspect of practices in the ancient world, with the hope of raising awareness about the protection of this ancient ally.