Honey, another story of humanity

According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, at the origin of the world, the buzzing of the bee, born from the tears of the sun god Ra, rose above the primordial waters of the Nile, this vibration being the source of creation. Did you know that 18,000-year-old Spanish cave paintings attest to the fact that wild honey harvesting dates back to prehistory, an activity that early humans practiced at the risk of their lives? That depictions of beekeeping found in the temple of Nyuserre in Lower Egypt prove the existence of domesticated beehives as early as 2000 BC? That during the Bronze Age, advances in metallurgy, which contributed to the prosperity of empires, owe much to the lost-wax casting technique, another product of the beehive? That mead was the very first fermented alcoholic beverage created by humankind? Or that Hippocrates recommended to his patients a mixture of vinegar and honey (oxymel) to treat colds, soothe coughs and relieve pain? By following the trail of these little foragers across continents and eras, Marie-Claire Frédéric demonstrates that the history of human civilizations is closely linked to that of bees and their precious nectar, and that their future depends today, more than ever, on the preservation of our planet.